Staff were evacuated from Epsom racecourse on Tuesday after strong winds in the area damaged the Duchess Grandstand.

Winds as high as 44mph struck the stand but Epsom officials insist that only a small area of the roof was damaged.

Epsom PR manager, Jonathan Spence, said: "Only five per cent of the roof is damaged; the insulation has blown about, which makes it look worse than it is. It's certainly not the case that the whole roof has blown off. There is absolutely no danger to the first meeting [of the new Flat season] in April.

"Hopefully everything will be open again by the end of the week."

The Duchess Grandstand was opened in 2009 as part of a £38m redevelopment of Epsom.