Things have been really heating up at Belfast’s new Victoria Square complex, literally.

Visitors were stopped from travelling up to the centre’s landmark glass dome on Saturday, as temperatures inside had reached an uncomfortable 30 degrees.

Management decided to halt shoppers from climbing to the top of the impressive viewing area for health and safety reasons.

The dome, which has become a new fixture on the Belfast skyline, was closed for several hours, until the 'tropical' climate cooled.

One shopper told the BBC: "We had gone there and the girl at the stairs said the dome was closed as it was too hot. We just asked her if she was serious and she told us that this was the reason why it had to shut down."

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Victoria Square Manager Hugh Black has said the dome does have safety measures in place to stop it becoming too hot.

"The design of the dome includes a system which automatically opens windows in the dome once the temperature reaches 19 degrees, plus a solar shade which follows the track of the sun in order to prevent the intense heat of the sun from directly reflecting into the dome," Mr Black told the BBC.

"However, due to the higher than usual temperatures on Saturday, these were not enough to reduce the humidity in this particular area," he added.

It is believed Victoria Square is currently looking into additional methods to help control the temperature in the large public area.

The centre, which opened in March after almost four years of construction, offers over one hundred retail and leisure outlets, as well as 106 apartments.

(PR)