SHOCKING footage shows the moment a 100-year-old building collapsed after being battered by 60mph winds during Storm Eowyn.
The red-bricked property which dates from the 1900s, stood on Ashley Road in Hale, Manchester.
MEN MediaThe moment a historic building collapsed has been captured on film[/caption]
MEN MediaThe red-bricked property, which dates from the 1900s, stood on Ashley Road in Hale[/caption]
MEN MediaHigh winds whipped up by Storm Eowyn saw the building badly damaged[/caption]
But it was reduced to rubble after high winds whipped up by Storm Eowyn over the past few days buffeted the historic building.
Gales of an unprecedented strength left carnage and a tail of destruction in their wake across the country.
Trees were ripped up and roof tiles torn as many were forced to take shelter inside.
And the scenes in Hale were no different to the chaos witnessed in other parts of the UK and Ireland.
Cracks had already appeared on the historic property’s walls late last week, according to local reports.
The three-storey building, which has been empty for about two years, was last occupied by Atticus bar.
Michael Haworth, joint owner of nearby Porters hairdressers, caught the dramatic moment it collapsed on camera.
In the footage, a wall of red-brick can be seen peeling away from one end as gales from the storm swirled around.
Debris is then seen crashing to the ground causing a cloud of dust as shocked bystanders watched on.
Michael said: “I am one of the proprietors of Porters which is next door but one, and there is an Indian restaurant which is in between.
“My fire escape allowed me to get into a little alleyway from where I could get the footage.
“The building was condemned on Thursday. I believe the hairdressers next door, called The Knot, were complaining that their floor was cracking so building regulations were called in.”
Trafford council officers ordered the closure of The Knot Hair Studio and another nearby business, the Mouse House Print Shop, as a precaution.
On Friday morning a cordon was erected and the plan was for a controlled demolition.
Michael said the person who bought the building “was going to turn it into a private medical practice”.
He added: “It is an historic building and there is quite interesting architecture on the front of it.
“It was quite edgy watching it come down, especially being so close to it. I did wonder if it was going to come straight at me. Apparently the building has been creaking since yesterday.
“Quite possibly the situation with the building has worsened because of the storm.”
A design statement on the Trafford Council planning application site states that the work being carried out before the collapse would “retain the existing shop front main entrance and provide a separate staff entrance & fire exit on the side elevation facing onto Bath Place”.
STORM CHAOS
Storm Eowyn might have passed, but the damage it left in its wake is still very much here.
Some 1070 flights were cancelled and 50 supermarkets were forced to close.
And thousands of properties remain without power in the UK following Storm Eowyn.
The brutal storm damaged buildings, uproot trees and caused power cuts as it wreaked havoc over the past few days.
Ireland was hit hard by Storm Eowyn, with a record-breaking wind speed of 183kmh (114mph) being measured in Mace Head, Co Galway on Friday morning, Met Eireann said.
One person, Kacper Dudek, was killed when his car was crushed by the tree, which was uprooted in last night’s record-breaking winds.
The 20-year-old was understood to be driving in convoy with a friend before the tragedy.
A resident in Belfast dodged falling slabs as he tried to secure his trampoline in his garden.
Elsewhere a mum and daughter were only seconds away from being crushed by a flying metal shed.
Google MapsThe building was last occupied by Atticus bar[/caption]
PAMotors lay buried under fallen trees and smashed sheds in Dechmont after Storm Eowyn[/caption]
GettyThe storm left mountains of twisted metal torn from the £22million Helensburgh[/caption]
PAAn ambulance attends the scene of a crash during strong winds on the north bound A19 near to the A690 Durham Road[/caption]
Ben LackA home in Baildon, West Yorkshire that has been badly damaged after a huge tree landed on the property following the storm[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
