Woman rushed to hospital after being crushed by falling scaffolding poles when Storm Noa winds blew them off roof
A WOMAN was rushed to hospital after being crushed by falling scaffolding poles brought crashing down by Storm Noa.
Horrified witnesses looked on in Fareham, Hampshire as the metal scaffolding was blown down onto the woman outside a Halifax bank.
Shop workers on the high street described hearing a "loud bang", with dramatic photos showing metal strewn across the street.
A cordon has now been put up around the site following the frightening incident today around 1.45pm.
It comes as gusts of up to 60mph have battered the South of England, with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning for wind.
One Greggs worker on the high street said: "We heard a loud bang and then next thing we know there were emergency services here and they were telling people not to go near it."
Read More UK News
A witness said: "We witnessed and helped the little lady who was hit by the scaffolding outside Halifax bank. She was in a bad way."
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson said: "We were called to the scene just before 1.45pm.
Most read in The Sun
"A woman has suffered serious injuries in the incident and has been taken to hospital."
Fareham police tweeted: "We are dealing with an injury related incident on West Street, Fareham. Multi agency incident involving all emergency services who are on scene.
"Please do not loiter or film us at work. Be considerate of the injured parties dignity."
The Met Office said a large Atlantic low pressure system is bringing strong winds, low temperatures and heavy rain or showers to many places.
The yellow weather warning is in place until 8pm tonight.
Storm Noa is expected to bring winds of up to 70mph across England.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: “Most places will see showers or longer spells of rain today but the impacts are most likely to come from strong winds.
Gusts of 50-60 mph are possible quite widely in the southwest, with up to 75 mph in exposed coastal areas.”
“Some disruption due to strong winds is expected in southern areas, particularly the south coast of Wales and southwest England.
"It will be a cool day with temperatures of 7 to 10 C in the west, with 11 to 13 C possible in the southeast, however it will feel colder in the strong winds."