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Homes evacuated and roads closed as building collapses

BBC The collapsed building, the inside is visible, bricks and debris lay around. BBC
A building in Caernarfon collapsed on Sunday night

Roads were closed and homes evacuated following the collapse of a building in Gwynedd on Sunday night.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said no-one was injured in the incident on Bridge Street in Caernarfon.

The service was called by a member of the public just after 21:00 GMT with one crew attending and leaving at 23:35.

North Wales Police asked people to avoid the area, adding that the following roads were closed: Poolside from the roundabout from the flyover, Bridge Street onto Bangor Street, Mill Lane and Crown Street.

Gaynor Morris standing opposite Caffi Cei which has a green store front sign and writing in gold-coloured letters. She is wearing a black and white striped jumper and a silver necklace and has brown hair tied back.
Gaynor Morris runs a cafe situated next to the collapsed building

On Monday morning the force said Bridge Street and Crown Street had reopened.

Residents were evacuated temporarily from properties nearby as a precaution but had since been allowed back in, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said on Monday afternoon.

Gaynor Morris, who runs Caffi Cei next door to the collapsed building, said she had been able to reopen her business on Monday, but the state of the building was a cause for concern.

"It's our livelihood and our home as well," she said.

"We don't want it to be closed, we can't afford it to be closed at the moment. As every business in Caernarfon.

"We want to know what they will do about the building, if they're going to take it down, is it going to be done up?

"It can't be like that. Something needs to be done."

Cai Larsen, Plaid Cymru councillor for Canol Tref Caernarfon ward, said it was an "extremely dangerous" situation.

"It's obviously a concern. Nobody got hurt, fortunately, and we need to be thankful for that, but you've got buildings in the middle of Caernarfon that aren't in a very good state and hopefully nothing like this happens again, but it's possible," he said.

"It is something that needs to be looked at... I'll be talking to the council later today about whatever powers of supervision are available to them."

Local authority Cyngor Gwynedd said an officer from the council's building control service had visited the site and an initial review of the building had been carried out.

"Due to the condition of the building and the potential threat to public health and safety, urgent steps were taken to stabilise the site and protect the public," a spokesperson said.

"The council has been in contact with the owners of the building and asked them to carry out a detailed assessment of its structural condition.

"The owner is asked to carry out any restoration work as a matter of urgency."