Reading crane collapse: Families evacuated after crane dramatically falls onto former Primark store

The crane collapsed over shops and homes
Twitter/NPAS
Eleanor Rose30 July 2017

Nearly 50 people fled their homes after a giant crane collapsed into a former Primark store.

Nobody was reported injured but shops were evacuated.

Residents spent the night in temporary accommodation after the 60-metre crane toppled.

It came to rest against the former shop in West Street, Reading.

The crane came to rest against a former Primark store. Photo by Ivan Barefield/FR Pix
Ivan Barefield/FR Pix

The long arm of the crane had been pictured earlier that day looking "precarious", according to one Twitter user.

He wrote: "Not saying I have foresight but the crane that has fallen over in Central Reading looked so precarious earlier that I took a picture of it."

Another Twitter user said the collapse had caused "mighty problems".

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 2pm on Saturday and 60 residential properties were evacuated while emergency services worked to stabilise the machine.

Reading Council has re-homed 49 people, with other residents preferring to arrange to stay with friends and family.

A number of roads in the Berkshire town have been closed for safety reasons, Thames Valley Police said.

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