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Morrisons in Sutton Road, Maidstone, reopens after ceiling collapsed following heavy rain

11:00, 17 August 2020

updated: 11:23, 17 August 2020

A supermarket has reopened to shoppers after torrential downpours caused its ceiling to collapse.

Customers were evacuated from the Morrisons store in Sutton Road, Maidstone, yesterday afternoon after ceiling tiles fell in and water poured into the busy shop.

The moment more ceiling tiles fell through into the Morrisons store was caught on camera
The moment more ceiling tiles fell through into the Morrisons store was caught on camera

One shopper who was in the supermarket at the time said: "Alarms were going off and they were evacuating the building but more and more of the ceiling tiles were coming down."

The dramatic scenes were caught on camera by people in the store, and people were seen running past the checkouts as water flooded in.

A fire engine and a height vehicle were sent to the supermarket at about 3pm.

"On arrival crews found the store had been safely evacuated by the staff," a fire service spokesman said.

"Inside there was a partial collapse of several suspended ceiling tiles due to heavy rain. Crews carried out a check of the external roof and found no damage.

Yesterday barriers were placed outside the Morrisons store in Sutton Road, Maidstone, which has now reopened
Yesterday barriers were placed outside the Morrisons store in Sutton Road, Maidstone, which has now reopened

"There were no reported injuries and duty of care of the building was handed back to store manager."

A Morrisons spokesman confirmed that the store reopened as normal this morning.

This is not the first time parts of the ceiling have collapsed at the Sutton Road branch.

In 2014, tiles fell near the supermarket's bakery after water was seen leaking through roof panels.

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone

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