Cars plunge into workshop as roof gives way at Audi dealership

8:45 am, June 2, 2015

Picture: BBC

CARS crashed through a ceiling and into the workshop below when a roof at Milton Keynes Audi gave way.

No-one was hurt when the roof collapsed, sending about 20 cars parked above plunging into the workshop.

About one-third of the 2,000 sq metre roof, which covered the workshop, gave way about 12.20pm. Engineers propped up what remained of the roof.

Jason Cranswick, commercial director of Jardine Motors Group, which owns the dealership, said: ‘There was a bang, at which point one of the managers set off the fire alarm, and it was after everybody was evacuated that the collapse occurred.’

Cranswick said the portion of the roof which collapsed, at the back of the building, had been built as a car park. Cars use a ramp to reach the roof area.

Jardine Motors said it was investigating the cause of the collapse and the extent of the damage. The dealership will be contacting customers whose cars have been damaged.

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue said 20 cars had fallen through the roof.

A spokesman for the service said: ‘It is a significant structural collapse, about a third of the 200m by 100m roof, which we believe is used to store cars, has collapsed into the ground floor. There are no injuries. Firefighters have been making the scene safe.’

Later, Ian Wilson, from Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue, said staff had a ‘lucky escape’ thanks to the actions of their colleagues. ‘People working within the workshop heard a loud bang and promptly hit the fire alarm call point, which was quick thinking on their part,” he said. ‘Within 20 minutes a third of the floor above the workshop collapsed.’

Milton Keynes council building control inspectors are investigating why the roof fell in.

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