Court proceedings came to a halt at the Pinetown magistrate's court after a fire broke out in the men's toilets on the first floor on Monday.

People were evacuated shortly after 10.30am.

The smell of smoke filtered through the corridors as SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE proceeded to the source.

A small hole was made in the wall of one of the cubicles and the fire was extinguished by court officials.

Members of eThekwini Fire and Rescue arrived and will conduct a precautionary assessment.

Court is expected to resume shortly.

The fire came in the midst of an appearance by a “soccer coach”, accused of raping a young boy after luring him by offering him help to achievehis dreams of playing professional football.

The 25-year-old man was arrested by members of the Pinetown Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) last week.