Street shut over hotel building safety concerns

12 hours ago

The Bear Hotel in Wareham said the building was evacuated as a "precaution"

Google A white painted three-storey building with black painted bay windows and the name Bear Hotel in gold letters sits between two other buildings on a street. — The Bear Hotel in Wareham said the building was evacuated as a "precaution"

A street has been partially closed over building safety concerns following the collapse of masonry and part of a ceiling at a hotel in Dorset.

Just before 13:00 BST, the fire service said a number of properties in South Street, Wareham, had been evacuated as a "precaution".

In a statement later on Sunday, The Bear Hotel said: "This morning we discovered structural damage in one of our second floor guest bedrooms."

The room was unoccupied at the time and no-one was hurt, it said.

The hotel said part of the ceiling and masonry above a bay window had "come down".

"We reported this to Dorset Council straight away and, purely as a precaution, the building was evacuated this afternoon," it said, adding restaurant guests and its team had all left safely.

In a post on social media, Dorset Council said South Street was closed to vehicles and pedestrians from Trinity Lane to the Red Lion Pub due to a risk of falling debris.

The hotel apologised for the inconvenience caused to "guests, neighbours and everyone who uses South Street", adding there was "no need to panic".