12 people evacuated after part of building collapses (From York Press)

12 people evacuated after part of building collapses

8:34am Sunday 23rd December 2012 in Harrogate and Ripon news By Mark Stead, mark.stead@thepress.co.uk

RESIDENTS were evacuated from a block of flats in a North Yorkshire town after part of the building collapsed.

A section of the gable end of the terraced building in Park View, in the centre of Harrogate, collapsed at about 6.30pm last night, with the rubble damaging the gas supply to the homes.

Fire crews were alerted and called for help from gas engineers, the police and council structural teams, as well as Red Cross volunteers and an emergency planning officer in case any of the 12 residents forced out of their homes in poor weather needed emergency accommodation elsewhere.

All those who were evacuated from the flats were uninjured and sheltered in a nearby pub until an inspection of the four-storey building was completed. With the exception of those living on the top floor, they were allowed back home, although the gas supply was still out of operation at the time they returned last night.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the collapse is believed to have been due to "weathering".