May 22 (Bloomberg) -- A device exploded at or near a restaurant in Exeter, a city in western England, slightly injuring one man, police said.

The explosion occurred at or near the Giraffe restaurant in the Princesshay shopping mall today, said Baxter Proven, a spokesman for the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. Police officers evacuated the area and set up a cordon, Proven said. The injured man was taken to hospital.

``We are carrying out a careful evacuation of the premises using the police and other emergency services that are at the scene,'' Assistant Chief Constable Bob Spencer said in a statement on the Devon and Cornwall police force media Web site.

One man is in custody in connection with the incident, the police force said in a separate statement on its media Web site.

``There were three explosions,'' the BBC cited witness Peter Lacey as saying. ``They sounded more like gunshots than a bomb, like a light bulb exploding,'' Lacey told the BBC. The explosions came from a locked toilet, Lacey said.

Bomb disposal experts were sent to the area as a precautionary measure and there's no evidence of a further explosive device, a police spokeswoman said. Police are calling for retailers and businesses in the complex to keep their CCTV tapes in case they are needed for the investigation, the police force said on its media Web site.

A second person quoted by the BBC, who gave her name to the broadcaster only as Trudy, said, ``It sounded like the lights were exploding.'' She said there was ``a lot of glass.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Victoria Richards in London at vrichards@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 22, 2008 11:10 EDT