Welshpool Town Hall was temporarily closed on Friday due to faults with fire alarms, but reopened on the Saturday with people volunteering as fire wardens "patrolling the areas".

On Friday when undertaking Welshpool Town Hall fire and smoke alarm checks it was found that there was a fault in the system which it was not possible to resolve quickly, the town council said.

The mayor determined that the only course of action was to close the building until receiving professional advice that the building could be reopened with Voluntary Fire Wardens patrolling the areas. The wardens were alerted and with the rota in place the Town Hall was reopened on Saturday morning to welcome customers to the market and Rotary Annual Book Fair.

The mayor, Cllr Steve Kaye, said: “I am pleased to confirm that our emergency fire alarm procedure has been successfully implemented and will remain in place until the experts inform us that the fire alarm system is working fully.”

He added that he was very grateful to staff and volunteers pitching in over the Bank Holiday weekend. “Our team of staff, volunteers and councillors stepped up and together we dealt with the situation with minimal disruption. We would also like to thank Welshpool Rotary Club and Welshpool Town Market traders for their support. Thank you all!”