Maldon roof collapse: woman 'ran for her life' as rubble fell

Firefighters are on the scene in Maldon High Street where a section of the roof of Embassy Court has collapsed.

The structure has not yet been declared safe and the High Street is currently closed from the Wantz Road junction to Victoria Road.

Unsafe - Emergency services remain on the scene with a cordon in place (Image: Public) Residents reported hearing a sound like an “explosion” when the roof collapsed, with debris reportedly "flying everywhere".

The Gazette's sister paper the Maldon Standard has also been told debris may have narrowly avoided hitting an elderly pedestrian.

Jo Curnick, 35, was there when the bricks fell.

Safe - Jo 'ran for her life' to avoid the bricks and luckily sustained no injuries (Image: Jo Curnick) She said: “It scared the life out of me.

“I was seconds away from walking down the path to go around the back when I heard this awful sound—all of a sudden, white plastic bits were flying everywhere and there was a massive bang.

“It sounded like an explosion and I thought something had exploded.

“I just ran for my life.”

Dangerous - The bricks narrowly missed Jo (Image: Jo Curnick) She continued: “I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t know what to do or what had just happened.

“But if I had been a split second later I would’ve been under that rubble.

“There were bricks hanging off the side really dangerously—any more gusts of wind and I think it will go.

“It really frightened me.”

Emergency services remain on the scene with a police cordon in the High Street.

Firefighters from Maldon, Chelmsford, Colchester, and USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) are attending, as well as the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and local police.