Ikea store ‘locked down’ as shoppers told to ‘leave immediately’
Shoppers at a packed Ikea in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, have been ordered to ‘leave immediately’ in an apparent ‘lockdown’.
Social media posts from around 7:15pm show rafts of customers outside the Swedish furniture store on Wellington Road.
One witness told the Manchester Evening News that the store is currently still ‘locked down’ after staff told them over the tannoy to leave.
People reported hearing alarms as they left towards the exits into the car park. No one is allowed to enter the store, per reports.
The nature of the incident and why customers had to be cleared out has yet to be confirmed, though Fire and Rescue Services are not at the scene.
One witness, mental health activists John Junior, tweeted: ‘We got evacuated from Ikea in Ashton Under Lyne. Just so scary.’
He added: ‘Got evacuated as we was about to eat and try the meatballs at Ikea in Ashton Under Lyne and we are all outside with so many other people.
‘Alarms going off and speaker system telling us to leave the building.’
Metro.co.uk contacted Ikea for comment.
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