Man taken to hospital after Pizza Hut sign falls on him in Southall
Paramedics treated a pedestrian at the scene after a large shopfront sign came away from a Pizza Hut delivery shop near Southall Broadway on Wednesday morning.
Video: @sarrtaj2
A man was taken to hospital after a large Pizza Hut shop sign fell on him as he walked along the pavement in Southall on Wednesday morning, 21 October.
The sign came down at about 11am outside the Pizza Hut delivery shop near Southall Broadway. The whole red fascia fell onto the pavement and left the bare wooden backing showing above the shopfront.
Footage shared with UB1UB2 shows the broken sign lying across the pavement in front of the shop while people stood nearby. The person who filmed it said the sign fell on a man walking underneath. It has been reported that he was elderly, but his age has not been officially confirmed.
Ambulance service confirms call
The London Ambulance Service said it was called at 11.09am to reports of an incident on South Road, Southall. It sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew and a paramedic in a fast response car.
The service said: "We treated a man at the scene and took him to hospital as a priority."
No information has been released about the man's condition or his injuries.
What Pizza Hut said
The shop is run as a franchise. A Pizza Hut spokesperson said: "We are aware of a serious incident that took place at one of our franchise delivery huts in Southall today."
The spokesperson added: "We are in close contact with the franchisee and, as the situation is still ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this stage."
Neither the company nor any official body has said why the sign came away from the building. Nobody has said whether the Metropolitan Police, Ealing Council or any other authority went to the scene or is looking into what happened.
A busy stretch of pavement
The Broadway and South Road are among the busiest shopping streets in Southall. Shoppers, commuters heading to Southall station and people visiting the area's many restaurants, sweet shops and clothing stores walk them all day. Wednesday was overcast and wet, and the pavement outside the shop was busy when the sign fell.
Like other premises in the borough, shopfront signs and fascias in Southall are the responsibility of the building's owner or occupier. Anyone worried that a sign or other fixture on a building looks unsafe can report it to Ealing Council. If it poses an immediate danger to people on the street, call 999.
Anyone who saw what happened and has information can contact the police on 101.