A MOTORIST has slammed shopping centre bosses for charging drivers who were fleeing the car park after a fire alarm had sounded.

Phil Ratcliffe, of Vicarage Lane, Wilpshire, said he was returning to his car at the Blackburn Shopping Centre car park when the fire alarm went off.

Shopping centre staff asked customers to evacuate the area while firefighters investigated what turned out to be a false alarm.

But as shoppers left the centre by cars they were still required to stop at the barriers and pay, causing a backlog of traffic.

Phil, 38, said: "If a fire alarm is going off the barrier should automatically go up. It's not the money because I didn't actually have to pay as the person I was with is disabled, but it seems to be a case of profiteering over people's lives."

The centre was evacuated for around 30 minutes while firefighters investigated. Mr Ratcliffe said: "If there had been a real fire it would have been a death-trap. The queues were horrendous."

Mr Ratcliffe was accompanied by friend Judith Brown, of Matlock Street, Darwen, who is a disabled-badge holder.

She said: "By the time we were driving out cars were coming from everywhere. If it had been a real emergency I don't know how we would have got out."

But John Taylor, spokesman for the Lancashire Fire Service, said the best advice would be to leave vehicles where they are if there was a fire.

He said: "If there was an incident, leave the car because you may get stuck. Vehicles also contain flammable material."

Standard Life, which owns the shopping centre, declined to comment.