Community shock after building partially collapses

People living and working near a building that has partially collapsed in Worcestershire say they have been left shocked by the incident.

Nearby roads and footpaths remain closed after bricks from the property on The Strand, in Bromsgrove, tumbled on to the pavement below on Sunday at about 10:07 GMT.

Richard Edge, who has owned the building for 45 years and lives on the upper floors, said he was unaware at the time the incident happened and awoke to find a pile of bricks outside his shop, Midland Waterlife.

Council contractors remain at the scene to review the safety of the building.

"It came as a bit of a shock," said Emily Dixon, who works at Star Legal Solicitors opposite the scene.

"For local businesses, it's difficult anyway in this climate so it can't be an easy time for the aquarium shop to have to deal with this as well.

"We just hope that they will be able to continue trading, they have been part of Bromsgrove for a long time."

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said no-one had been injured and businesses nearby had been evacuated at the time of the incident.

Ross Howarth, owner of Next Generation Recruitment solutions, who works next door said: "I'm just thankful that it happened at such a time where there was no-one passing by.

"The beams that run through our building are jointly connected to that building next door, so you can see visibly that the roof is bowing a little bit so I would imagine if that does collapse, it could have a domino effect on the structure of this building as well."

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