TWO shop staff had a lucky escape after a suspended ceiling collapsed at a shop yesterday afternoon.

At 1.11pm emergency services were called to Cook on Poole Road, Westbourne.

Inspector Ian Jarred said: “Two women were treated at the scene by paramedics for shock. Fortunately neither was injured.”

The women, the owner of the shop and a shop employee, were collected by family members and taken home following their ordeal.

Police partially closed the road with traffic being stopped from Frizzell Roundabout for several hours while the outer wall of the shop was assessed by engineers.

Andrea Blackie, pictured above, landlady of The Porterhouse, which is located opposite the shop, saw the ceiling collapse from her window.

She said: “I was looking out of the window upstairs and saw the whole ceiling fall down. There was a bright flash from the electric cables. Fortunately there wasn’t a fire.”

The 49-year-old added: “The windows have cracked with the weight and you can see the electrical wires hanging down.

“There's no sign of fire or flooding to have seemingly caused this.”

Fred Dickerson, who has lived in Westbourne for more than 50 years, said locals had been left shocked by the incident.

The 81-year-old said: “I got off the bus and saw the emergency services. Nobody knew what was going on.”

Cook supplies prepared meals and provides a delivery service to local residents.

Mr Dickerson said: “It’s normally very busy in the shop and a lot of elderly people go in there. I’m just pleased that no one was hurt.”

Inspector Jarred said incident has been referred to the Health and Safety Executive.