Crane drama at Royal London showers street with glass

Pedestrians walking near one of the new parts of east London’s Royal London Hospital had a lucky escape after a window at the building was shattered, sending shards of glass plummeting to the ground.

Twitter user Tomas Klassnik this morning reported being “nearly sliced” by a “shower of falling glass” outside the distinctive Whitechapel hospital, which has been rebuilt as part of a £1bn private finance initiative.

A spokeswoman for the hospital, which is operated by Barts NHS Trust, confirmed the accident had been caused while a cleaner was in a window cleaning crane on the building, but said no injuries had been reported.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said local officers had not been alerted to the incident.