Members of Castleford's Choral Society were stunned when managers at the town's Carlton Lanes shopping centre told them their event had been stopped.

The charity concert was cancelled after fire officers raised fears that the 30 members would block emergency exits.

But on Friday the fire service said there had been a "misunderstanding".

These concerns were raised purely in the interest of public safety, which is of course our overall priority West Yorkshire Fire Service Spokeswoman

West Yorkshire Fire Service officers are now working with shopping centre managers to find a solution to the problem.

A spokeswoman said the shopping centre management approached the service for advice about using stalls or stands in the area that they usually have the carol singers' concert.

"We advised that there were some concerns with some of the stands that they wanted to use, and alongside the carol singers this may cause a risk to fire escape procedures," she said.

"These concerns were raised purely in the interest of public safety, which is of course our overall priority.

"However, it seems there has been a misunderstanding somewhere along the line which has resulted in the carol singers being excluded from the shopping centre this year."

She said the fire service were happy to see Christmas choirs in public areas provided they were safely accommodated and did not put shoppers at risk.

Choral society chairman John Dean said: "The divisional fire officer has visited the centre and we understand he considers the situation relatively safe so we're hoping it will all be OK."