THE GREAT ESCAPE!
How DID this man avoid being crushed by a collapsing roof?
SUNDAY strolls along the high street are rarely momentous.
But for this chap, a weekend walk in strong winds is likely to be something he remembers for the rest of his life – after he missed being crushed by a mass of falling bricks by seconds.
Dramatic CCTV footage caught the moment the man – hailed ‘the luckiest alive’ – casually wandered past a cafe when its parapet wall crashed behind him.
It happened on Stoke Newington High Street in East London as 65mph winds tore across the country.
Petulia Mattioli was crossing the road seconds before the collapse at the Stokey Vintage Cafe.
She wrote on social media: ‘ You never realise how death is real until you face it. That guy was a second away from death.’ Dawn Hawkins commented: ‘ That chap’s guardian angel was looking after him.’
Alexandra Hamit, whose CCTV footage has been viewed more than 100,000 times online, said: ‘I counted it and it was about two seconds that he had.
‘If he’d stumbled or even changed his footing he would have felt the full force of all those bricks.’ She added: ‘I think he should definitely do the lottery.’
Demet Sahin, who jointly runs the cafe, said her brother Turgay was left ‘traumatised’ after the rubble narrowly missed him. She said: ‘My brother was outside when it happened, and he cannot sleep...
‘He still can’t talk about it. This has been very traumatic for him.’ The weekend’s disruptive weather is set to continue as Britain faces gales of up to 80mph today.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for today and tomorrow as Storm Gareth hits, with a yellow flood warning for north west England in anticipation of heavy rain into this morning.