A GROUP of teenagers got more than they bargained for when they were locked in at a Newport cinema.

Jodie Westwood, 15, and six friends went to see the comedy Run Fat Boy run at City Cinema in Bridge Street.

They were the only people at the 8.50pm showing, which finished at around 10.20pm. Just before leaving screen one the group realised one of the girls had lost her mobile phone camera lens, and spent around 10 minutes looking for it.

When they tried to leave at 10.30pm, they found the shutters were down and the doors locked, leaving them trapped inside.

Panic stricken Abby Pearce, 14, called her mum on her mobile phone, who told them to try and find a fire exit.

While the others looked, Abby and Jodie thought they had found a different escape route.

Jodie said: "We couldn't see any fire exit signs but we found a small window open in the kitchen.

"Abby and I crawled through and got out onto the roof to see if anyone was about."

The window they found was on the side of the building and took them onto the overhanging in front of the cinema,12 feet off the ground.

While they tried to attract the attention of passers by in Bridge Street the girls looked down and saw their friends had finally found the fire escape.

Shaken up by their experience, they went to meet Jodie's dad Chris who had been waiting to pick them up at the bus station.

Jodie's mum Joanne said: "They were quite frightened by it all, when they got to my husband he was met by a bunch of screaming girls. It's just as well there wasn't a fire with the shutters down."

A spokesman for the cinema was said he personally unaware of the incident but apologised to the parents and said he would investigate the matter further.