Shepherd's Bush building collapse: Roof smashes onto pavement, injuring man

Jamie Bullen5 December 2015

The roof of a building in Shepherd's Bush has collapsed, showering bricks and wood onto the pavement and reportedly injuring a man.

London Fire Brigade said it was called at 3.21pm to reports of a collapsed structure in west London.

Firefighters are still at the scene and several road closures are in place.

Those who witnessed the collapse speculated strong winds as the cause.

Carl English, 29, said he was just yards away when the roof collapsed onto a street busy with shoppers.

Collapse: Bricks and debris smashed on to the pavement from a house above a pawn shop in Uxbridge Road
Carl English

He said: “I heard this creaking noise and then turned around and saw bricks flying.

"People were screaming and running out the way.

“Then a guy I literally just walked past got hit in the head with a brick. He was bleeding a lot but he was able to get up.

“Within minutes the police came and blocked the road, and hundreds of people were there taking pictures on their phones.

“It looks as though the roof has collapsed in one of the flats above the shops. It doesn’t look as though anyone was in at the time."

Irfan Javaid, owner of Diamond Dry Cleaners two shops away from where the collapse took place, said he was frightened when the drama unfolded.

He said: "We heard a big noise so we ran outside and that's where we saw bricks and wood crashing down from the sky.

"It has been really windy so we think it has just blown the roof off.

"The signs from two other shops have been damaged. It was very scary."

Mr Javaid also confirmed a man was taken to hospital by ambulance crews.

Stunned witnesses have taken to Twitter to express their disbelief at the collapse.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">&#13; <p dir="ltr" lang="en">How did this even happen?!? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/ADdwWmnElF" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3130676-https://t.co/ADdwWmnElF" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/ADdwWmnElF</a>&#13; — shura (@weareshura) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/weareshura/status/673162370693361664" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3130676-https://twitter.com/weareshura/status/673162370693361664" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 5, 2015</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">&#13; <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chaos on Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush as it seems the front of a building has blown off <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/YBc9SSTDHU" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3130676-https://t.co/YBc9SSTDHU" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/YBc9SSTDHU</a>&#13; — Philippa Skett (@Sketterss) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Sketterss/status/673166549944004609" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3130676-https://twitter.com/Sketterss/status/673166549944004609" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 5, 2015</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">&#13; <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shepherds Bush bonkers, keep away! Roof of building on Uxbridge Road collapsing &amp; there is chaos.&#13; — Clare Tickell (@ClareTickell) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ClareTickell/status/673170117346369538" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3130676-https://twitter.com/ClareTickell/status/673170117346369538" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 5, 2015</a>

Scotland Yard also confirmed police officers are helping firefighters and have advised people to avoid the area while road closures are in place.

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