A LUMP of masonry fell from the roof of a three-storey building in a North-East town centre - smashing a bus shelter.

The incident happened in Darlington in the early hours of yesterday.

Police officers closed Crown Street after stonework fell from the building opposite the Post Office.

Staff from Darlington Borough Council's Highways department closed the road to traffic and cleared up smashed glass.

A police officer on patrol nearby discovered the bus shelter damage at 3.20am.

Inspector Tony Bell said: "Luckily, no one was in the vicinity at the time and no one has been hurt.

"A patrolling police officer found that a large piece of stonework had fallen from the roof of a commercial premises in Crown Street and had smashed into a bus shelter in the street below.

"The fire brigade attended and were able to inspect the roof safely using suitable equipment safely.

"They found it to be in a very precarious condition due to a lack of pointing in the stonework.

"It was likely to fall at any minute.

"As a result, the council has implemented a road closure of Crown Street between its junctions with Northgate and East Street."

Insp Bell said that a structural engineer visited the site yesterday morning to carry out an inspection.

Crown Street links Darlington's inner ring road to the town's main shopping area.

During the day, the street is often busy with shoppers and people visiting the town's main library and Post Office.

Inspector John Zissler, from Darlington police, said: "We closed the road off when the incident happened and Darlington Borough Council is now looking at it with the Fire Brigade and a full structural survey is to be carried out.

"We closed the road immediately after the incident and the council's highways division is continuing to keep the road closed."