Residents have been forced out of their homes after part of their city centre building came loose in storms and debris was sent crashing through the roof of an optician next door.
Sections of Hollybank Place in Aberdeen were cordoned off by emergency services at around 10am, while the Tartan Pig cafe was forced to close its doors and the flats above were evacuated.
Parts of an exterior wall had crumbled and collapsed, falling through the corrugated iron roof of the neighbouring Caledonian Optical premises.
The masonry is understood to have landed in the stock room, setting off alarms and prompting an immediate evacuation.
Residents in the upper floors were escorted out of their homes amid fears the building could further deteriorate, and they took refuge in neighbouring hair and nail salon Tek Tan.
They could only watch on as rain-soaked engineers worked with firefighters and police officers to secure the area.
After assessing the damage, many of the residents were able to return to their properties.
But two of the flats on the right-hand side of the building were deemed unsafe, meaning residents have been forced to seek out somewhere else to stay.
Vicky Pasterczyk, manager of The Tartan Pig, relived the moment the bricks came tumbling down from the building.
She said: “I initially heard a massive bang but was working on orders for customers so didn’t think to investigate, it wasn’t until one of our upstairs neighbours came in that I knew what was happening.”
The business has already dealt with crippling coronavirus restrictions and vandalism in the past year.
The manager added: “I fortunately had the keys for Tek Tan across the road so we were all able to take refuge in there while the engineers inspected the building.
“There was a long wait between them getting here and letting some of us know we could go back in.
“Thankfully we have been told that we can open up again on Friday, I was worried as our weekend service is keeping the business afloat.”
With the engineers’ report complete, emergency services pulled back their cordon from the length of Hollybank Place and Hardgate to just the corner surrounding the cafe.
A number of police cars remained on scene to escort residents who needed access to the street.
Nobody was injured in the incident and an investigation into the building’s structure will now be required.
Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart said: “While I’m glad to learn that nobody has been hurt, this remains deeply concerning news and so I’ve asked the council’s chief executive to ask her officials to inspect the scene and investigate the incident as soon as possible.”
