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Unstable high-rise block forces road closure

Chris Steers, in Birmingham,West Midlandsand
Bridie Adams,West Midlands
News imageBBC Police and fire officers stood on a street that is taped off, as a fire engine with a hydraulic platform is parked next to high-rise buildings. Two fire officers are on the platform inspecting a building. More buildings can be seen in the background.BBC
Emergency services have cordoned off the road while the blocks on the eighth floor are being made safe

A main city centre road in Birmingham has been shut after about 80 external building blocks on a residential high-rise development became unstable.

The alarm was raised at about 13:00 BST by a member of the public who noticed the problem on the eighth floor, West Midlands Fire Service said.

"Eighty breeze blocks are slightly unstable," said watch manager Russell Edwards from Ladywood Fire Station said. "We have cordoned the area off. Nobody's allowed in until that structure has been made safe."

He said structural engineers would work to stabilise the building, which has not been evacuated, on the busy Suffolk Street slip-road leading to Suffolk Street Queensway.

News imageA close-up of a high-rise building with lots of windows, showing several breeze blocks coming out of place and bulging out.
The blocks on the eighth floor of the building are currently bowed out and are unstable

"Public safety is a priority for us, so the reason we've put this cordon in place is so nobody goes within that risk area," Mr Edwards added.

A statement from the fire service said crews had entered the flats nearest to the "unsafe" fascia blocks to assess the damage.

Police officers, engineers and the building's management team have also been at the scene, and the fire service left at 16:45 BST.

The busy road will remain closed until the wall has been secured.

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