Fast food fans were left confused after the sudden closure of a McDonald's branch in Liverpool city centre.
The popular Lord Street branch unexpectedly shut its doors shortly after lunchtime today, with signs offering very little information posted in the windows by staff.
They read: "Closed. We apologise for any convenience," and "Closed until further notice."
While there had been speculation by some shoppers in town that a problem with the drains or sewage may have been at the root of the closure, the restaurant chain have not confirmed this and only cited "a technical issue".
McDonald's had initially hoped to reopen today, sending out a statement saying they would continue to trade until 10pm, but quickly retracted this and said they remained closed.
They said: "We have temporarily closed our Lord St. restaurant while we deal with a technical issue, and aim to reopen in time for breakfast tomorrow morning (Friday).
"We apologise for any inconvenience and in the meantime hope our customers will use one of our other great restaurants in the city centre."
While the city has a number of other branches - on Ranelagh Street, Hanover Street and in the St Johns Centre - Lord Street is the largest, and its closure on a sunny Thursday afternoon shocked many.
One said: "Shocked, in disbelief, hungry and startled, is how I feel about the McDonald's closing, I can't believe it. I'm really sad.
"Never seen a McDonald's closed before, it's a first. I'm going to find somewhere else to eat."
Another told the ECHO she spent more than an hour on a bus from St Helens to redeem her McDonald's voucher here - only to be met with locked doors.
