A CITY centre pub was forced to temporarily close after its cellar was "full of smoke".

The Royal Exchange has been forced to close for today (Wednesday) after an incident involving its electricals.

Shoppers had stopped in their tracks as two fire engines were called to a pub in the Cornmarket to deal with the issue.

READ MORE: As it happened - firefighters close city street 

A spokesperson for The Royal Exchange said: "Just to let everyone know we have had a small electrical issue in the cellar, due to this we have had to close for the rest of the evening awaiting work to be done.

"We are hoping to be back after the work has been completed.

"We will keep you updated on what time this will be!

"Thank you to everyone who was here today and complied with the fire safety instructions.

"All staff and customers are safe and fine and we look forward to welcoming you guys back shortly."

The pub is hoping to be back open tomorrow (Thursday).

Staff inside the pub had initially spotted smoke coming from the cellar and dialled 999.

Patrons were evacuated from the Royal Exchange at around 1pm after the smoke was seen rising from inside the cellar.

One pub patron said: “The landlady went into the cellar and it was full of smoke, so they told everyone to evacuate."