Hundreds of people were forced to leave the Natural History Museum on Wednesday (July 26) afternoon after an alarm sounded.

The South Kensington museum was busy during the first week of the summer holidays, when the alarm set off at around 3pm.

A spokesperson for the museum, on Cromwell Road, said dust caused by contractors working on site had set off the alarms, and resulted in the evacuation of a small part of the building for 15 to 20 minutes.

A crowd outside the Natural History Museum on Wednesday (July 26) afternoon, after it was evacuated following the sounding of an alarm

The museum has been in the headlines over recent weeks with the revealing of Hope the giant blue whale which replaces Dippy the Diplodocus in its Hintze Hall.

The 25.2 metre long skeleton has been welcoming visitors to the museum since Friday (July 14), and is suspended from the roof of grand hall.

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