Woman 'seconds from death' after shop front collapses on busy Hartlepool street

A woman has been injured when part of a shop collapsed on a busy Hartlepool road.
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Part of the former derelict Northern Textiles building came crashing down into the footpath on the corner of Raby Road and Hart Lane, Hartlepool, shortly before 9am on Thursday, August 8.

The area is a busy thoroughfare for people going to the local shops, post office and to the town centre.

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A local shopkeeper said the woman could have been killed after a wooden frame fell down just as she had almost walked past.

A woman is treated by paramedics after part of a shop front collapsed on Raby Road, Hartlepool.A woman is treated by paramedics after part of a shop front collapsed on Raby Road, Hartlepool.
A woman is treated by paramedics after part of a shop front collapsed on Raby Road, Hartlepool.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said: “I was in here and a lad came running in for water and wipes. He said it had just fell down.

“There is some heavy timber in there. If you look at the crossbar on the fence by the road it’s bent that, so if it hit her on the head, it would have killed her.”

Amazingly, the woman was not seriously hurt and did not have to go to hospital.

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The shopkeeper added: “She more or less got through it as it caught her. She was bleeding.

“We phoned the ambulance.”

The corner of the path has been closed off by Hartlepool Borough Council who had workers on the scene.

A North East Ambulance Service spokesman, said: “We got a call at 8.40am to the junction of Raby Road and Middleton Road to reports of a person injured by a falling canopy.

“We sent one resource and treated one person at scene.”

The shop has been closed for some time.