Camden Town pedestrian killed by falling betting shop sign Published duration 28 January 2013

image caption A police forensic tent has been erected at the spot where the man was hit

A man has died after a shop sign fell on him in north London.

The victim was hit on the head by the metal sign which toppled from a William Hill betting shop in Camden Road, Camden Town, at about 17:00 GMT.

Police said the man - thought to be in his 20s - had a cardiac arrest at the scene and died in hospital.

A William Hill spokeswoman said: "There is an urgent investigation under way and we are still establishing facts and liaising with authorities."

The man was injured when the sign, which was about 9m (30ft) long and had covered the length of the shop front, fell on to the pavement.

It is understood health and safety investigators have been into a flat above the shop to take photographs of the sign.

'Loud noise'

Ioana Nita, 21, was working at a nearby restaurant when the accident happened.

She said: "We heard a very loud noise. Me and a colleague went outside and saw the guy lying on the floor.

"Five guys picked up the sign and it was put on the side.

image caption The sign covered the length of the shop front

"His hands were covered in blood and he wasn't moving. Lots of people were in a circle around him then the ambulance arrived."

Ken Osbourne, 28, who works at the Woody Grill restaurant, said: "I saw the guy lying down in the road, covered in blood.

"The main impact was clearly on his head. I saw them trying to resuscitate him in the back of the ambulance.

"Hundreds of people walk past here every day. It could've been me or any one of them.

"The shop has been there for about 10 years."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and the man, believed to be aged in his 20s, was taken to a central London hospital for treatment.

"He died there a short while later."