Glass collapse victim: '˜I'm lucky to be alive'

Warren Brown suffered cuts to his head after being struck by one of three glass panels which fell from a canopy above the door of Goldsmiths jewellers in Blackpool.

Mr Brown, a 24-year-old volunteer from Norbreck, said he was passing the shop in Bank Hey Street at about 2.45pm on Wednesday, when he was knocked to the ground by the falling glass.

He said: “I was just standing there and then the next minute I felt something hit me on the head.

“I thought a pile of bricks had landed on me at first, but when I pulled myself off the ground, I realised I was surrounded by pieces of broken glass.

“I couldn’t believe what had happened. I noticed blood was pouring from some wounds on my head and everyone was standing around looking at me.

“The whole thing happened in seconds. There was no warning. I didn’t hear any signs to tell me the canopy was about to give way or anything like that.

“I was taken to hospital and the A&E staff couldn’t believe that I had not suffered a worse injury. I feel lucky to be alived and so relieved that this did not turn out to be more serious.”

Crew manager Les Watling, from Blackpool fire station, said: “A piece of glass fell out of an over-hanging canopy and struck somebody on the pavement, cutting their head.

“We attended and there were three pieces of glass, about three metres by one metre The area is now safe because we removed the remaining glass panels.

“There was one person injured, who was taken to hospital.”

Firefighters used an aerial ladder platform and removed three remaining glass panels, after two had already fallen.

An investigation has been launched by the council into how the accident could have occurred.

Goldsmiths confirmed that they would be carrying out their own probe into how the panels came to fall to the ground.

However, the firm’s Leicester head office said a spokeswoman would not be able to talk to the Gazette about the incident until later today.