‘Miracle’ no one hurt by debris
Bystanders were left in shock when a 10ft length of timber fell from a high street building, narrowly missing people below. Mum-of-one Laura Kirby, who had been waiting at a bus stop in Maidstone High Street at the time of the incident, said it was incredible no one was hurt.
She described how the piece of wood crashed onto the pavement landing between her and three others.
“It was a miracle that it landed perfectly between us,” she said. “Chunks of wood flew off it but it all just bounced off us. It's a miracle no one was hurt.
“It was so lucky that we didn't get hit. I don't believe in God but I might have to start.”
Laura, 29, was sitting at the bus stop facing the building when it happened. She said two teenage girls waiting with her were also left shaken.
She added: “I didn't register anything falling until the noise of it splitting.
“It was so loud I thought there had been a crash in the road behind me. I felt stuff hitting me and then I thought ‘what on earth was that?’
“I opened my eyes and all these splinters were hitting us. It was about 10ft long. If it hit anybody square on I don’t think they would be walking away. It would be at least a broken bone, if not worse.”
It’s the second incident involving the building in recent years. In 2019 a window fell from a second-floor flat, narrowly missing pedestrians. After getting over the initial shock, Laura contacted Maidstone council to report it, and says more needs to be done to maintain historic town centre buildings.
“You could see the wood was clearly rotten,” she added. “It’s not been maintained, it’s not been looked after.
“That bus stop is often used by people with kids, as well as elderly and disabled people. “There’s a lot more trim on it, so I would make a point of not standing near it when I’m waiting for the bus.”
A spokesman for Maidstone council said while the building was privately owned, its building control team was inspecting it and would give safety advice to its owners, if needed.