BICESTER Village bosses have confirmed the remaining shops closed after a large fire at Carluccio’s restaurant on Wednesday have reopened.

Outlets Kurt Geiger, Dior Homme, Loewe, Coccinelle and the Italian restaurant were shut to the public yesterday as investigations continued into the cause of the fire.

Bicester Village spokeswoman Sophie Hedley said: “Customers have been incredibly understanding and we were able to get up and running again with relative ease.

“The stores were simply closed to sort out and secure the area."

Carluccio’s will remain closed.

Shoppers and staff were forced to flee Bicester Village after a fire broke out just before trading hours at about 8.40am.

The retail complex was shut until 1pm when the majority of shops reopened.

Nobody was injured in the fire, which did not spread to other shops. Most of the damage to the Carluccio’s restaurant was external, according to firefighters.

A member of staff placed the emergency call, with group manager at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Grahame Mitchell praising their quick-thinking actions.

He said: “The first call came through from a member of staff here and it was an excellent, quick call. It was really important that they did a fast evacuation so nobody was put at risk at any time.”

Mr Mitchell said it was too early to confirm what had started the fire but believed it may have started outside the building.

Thames Valley Police said the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

At its height, seven fire appliances and special appliances including the hydraulic platform were at the scene, with about 40 firefighters from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire tackling the blaze.