By Bruce Robbins

A LOCHEE shopkeeper and a customer narrowly escaped death yesterday when a ton of masonry fell from a gable end of a tenement and crashed through the roof of a newsagents’ shop.

The crumbling stonework, measuring about 15 sq. ft., plummeted without warning on to the shop at 65 High Street, knocking a hole through the flat roof of the two-storey property before smashing its way through the ceiling of Haq’s newsagents.

Fortunately, 50-year-old Mr Akram Ul-Haq was in the front of the shop serving a customer at the time and the masonry landed towards the rear of ground-floor store.

His son Reehan, who owns the shop, said his father might have been badly injured had he been standing in any other part of the premises.

Reehan said, “My father got a shock and is upset but he got out uninjured with the customer so they have been very lucky.

“He usually moves about a lot in the shop putting papers out but just happened to be in this spot serving the customer when the stone fell.

“The only part of the shop not affected by the falling stone is the area where he was standing at the time. He’s being looked after at home now.”

However, the narrowness of Mr Ul-Haq’s escape prompted the city council’s development quality convener, Mr Wallace, to once again urge property owners to keep an eye on the condition of their buildings.

Mr Wallace has spoken out in the past about the dangers that lurk above people’s heads as the city’s ageing buildings continue to shed masonry.

He said the city engineer’s department began an immediate investigation into the Lochee incident and found that water seeping behind outer stone facing had caused it to spall.

“I was glad to hear that no one was injured—or worse—by the falling masonry,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that luck has been with us in that regard but how long can it continue? I wouldn’t want to think of a tragedy occurring but there is no real way of guarding against this sort of thing short of checking the condition of old properties.

“Unless you physically see cracks appearing over time then you usually get no warning that this is going to happen. If you look at buildings through binoculars on a regular basis there may be some forewarning of a problem.

“We need as much help as possible from the public to avoid these incidents. People should always be encouraged to report any dangerous-looking buildings to the city council.”

Council engineers were yesterday checking the condition of the tenement’s gable end. The falling stonework has left the exposed clay chimneys like bony fingers poking through a worn glove.

Demolition experts Safedem Ltd have been called in and it seems likely that the entire chimney breast will have to be carefully dismantled to make the building safe.

Mr Wallace added, “The road outside is presently closed but it’s possible it will be partly re-opened later today.

“I think we will have to have barriers across part of the road while any demolition work is taking place.”

* The potentially disastrous masonry fall in Lochee High Street yesterday served to underline the continuing problem Dundee has with dangerous buildings, writes Brian Allison, local government reporter.

On Monday the city council’s development quality committee will receive a report by planning and transport director Mike Galloway detailing 11 incidents relating to dangerous buildings which were investigated by the city engineer in July.

Committee convener Rod Wallace has repeatedly warned of the need for owners to ensure buildings are kept in a good state of repair.

“We don’t want another Edinburgh here,” he said, referring to a tragic incident in the capital five years ago when a waitress died after being struck by falling masonry.

The council has powers to take direct action to maintain public safety, from instructing repairs to be carried out to cordoning off areas for safety reasons.

It has been stressed that the council will seek to recover all costs arising from direct action, including staff time and administration charges, from individual owners.

Of the 11 incidents investigated in July two resulted in direct action being taken by the council—one to secure windows and the rear entrance door to a vandalised flat in Clepington Street and another to put up safety barriers at a damaged boundary wall in Logie Street.

An advisory letter was also issued to the owners of a building at Commercial Street/Seagate calling for the facade to be inspected and any loose material removed.

In a leaflet offering advice to property owners, the council has acknowledged that something falls from a building into the street “almost every day of the week.”

Whilst factors such as weather conditions and traffic vibration contribute, by far the major reason is a lack of proper maintenance.