An area of The Lanes shopping centre in Carlisle was cordoned off when a glass roof panel shattered above pedestrians, leaving one shopper with ‘minor cuts’.
According to local newspaper the News & Star, a loud bang was heard when a 1m square section of glazing broke and small sections of glass fell to the floor at about 3.40pm last Wednesday.
The News & Star reports that the area was immediately sealed off using shutters and remained closed for about an hour while the situation was assessed.
An eyewitness, who was shopping with a friend said: “It’s unbelievable. All you heard was a massive crash. For part of that to come down is not good.”
David Jackson, The Lanes’ commercial director, said: “Fortunately one of my duty managers was down there and was on the scene straight away.
“The loud bang was a corner section of glazing shattering. About 20% of the panel came down.”
Contractors Carlisle Glass were at the scene within 20 minutes and their initial assessment suggested the section of glass had shattered on impact.
Mr Jackson said they concluded a small object hit the panel causing it to break.
“They checked the rest of the glazing in the area and found that it was all in order. They took the rest of the glazing out of the shattered pane and it was all made safe,” he added.
The glass panels, which he said “are top-quality toughened glass”, have been in place since 1984 and are inspected twice a year by Carlisle Glass.
An investigation by Carlisle Glass will continue.
One shopper had minor cuts and was given first aid at the scene by a member of staff. No one else was injured.
