We ran from the building choking from thick black smoke... it was really frightening

thought it was part of a drill and did not realise there was a fire.

She added staff in the shop were “brilliant”, but there was confusion over how to get shoppers out of the burning building.

The pair were among dozens of people, including young children and an elderly couple, who were upstairs as flames engulfed the upper floors.

Gemma said: “We were in Primark just looking at bits and pieces then next thing the smoke alarm went off.

“The staff told us to go to the front of the building. We were on the third floor and people just starting walking, fairly slowly to be honest, towards the front. We were all just stood waiting and wondering what was going on.

“We were there about 10 minutes, then the smoke alarm started going off again and we were still thinking it was a drill.

“Someone came over and said the doors at the front were blocked with cages so we couldn’t get out that way.

“A fella with us who was with a child joked if it was a real fire we’d all be dead. Next thing, we were told to go down to the back of the building. We were still going pretty slow and the staff were helping a wee old man and his wife.

“It was then I smelt smoke and started to think is this real.

“I went to walk down the escalators, which weren’t working, but was told I wasn’t allowed.

“So we ended up at the back of the shop at these double doors and eventually we were being led up these stairs and I turned around and said, ‘Why are we going up?’ I then said, ‘I’m away, I’m going down the stairs here’.”

Gemma told how Frances and around 20 other people, including the elderly couple and some Primark staff, then headed down to the second floor where they were met with thick smoke.

She added: “I started going down the escalator, still not realising there was a fire, but when I got to the floor below I had to cover my mouth and nose it was so bad with smoke.

“It was really frightening then. The Primark staff were fantastic with the elderly couple and we all eventually got down to the ground floor.

“We got out a side door on to Castle