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A woman was today lucky to be alive after she was pinned under an advertising billboard which fell '20 feet' from a building onto a busy street.

Witnesses said there was a "thunderous noise" as the giant hoarding fell onto a pavement in Tooting, south London, as commuters made their way to work this morning.

The woman was left trapped beneath the billboard after it fell at the junction of Mitcham Road and Mellison Road.

She was later taken to hospital where she was said to be suffering from injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening.

Kim Yaha, a scientist who saw the incident as she travelled to work on a bus, said: "Suddenly there was a thunderous noise and I saw the billboard falling and people running towards the area.

"It was a side street leading to a main road which was busy as you'd expect."

The 31-year-old added: "It just sort of dropped on the pavement, and there was debris and I saw people crossing the road to check out what was happening."

An ambulance crew, officer & @LAS_HART are attended a billboard fallen on to a patient in #Tooting. A woman is being taken to hospital — ChrisHawkswell, EP07 (@LAS_TacAdvisor) May 12, 2015

Witness Siobhan Slattery tweeted: "Thoughts are with the lady currently stuck under a billboard in #TootingBroadway - fell 15/20ft onto her. Awful."

The 26-year-old added: "I was in my house and felt the whole flat shudder at about 07:35. I looked out of the window and people started to run over to the incident, which I couldn't quite see at this point.

"There was one person underneath it, she was completely inside it. She had her hands stuffed in front of her and she was lying on the floor.

“You could see that she was awake. It must have weighed so much, it was just awful.”

More photos from the scene of fallen billboard in Tooting this morning. Thanks @CllrSimonHogg and @LondonFire pic.twitter.com/mapsnsv9Vg — Wandsworth Radio (@WandsworthRadio) May 12, 2015

She went on: "Nothing seems to have been on her head. The billboard was across her body but she appeared awake and moving her head.

"Passers-by were trying to comfort her."

Something large (an ad hoarding?) has fallen off a building on corner of Mellison Rd & Micham Rd. Hope no one hurt... pic.twitter.com/uiBQSoa7Sl — Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) May 12, 2015

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We were called at 7.30 am to reports of a billboard falling onto a street.

"The woman was taken to hospital with injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening."

A spokesman for the LAS said: "We sent a number of resources to the scene including a responder by car, two duty station officers and our hazardous area response team.



"We treated a woman reported to be in her 30s for leg and hip injuries.



"She was taken to St George's Hospital as a priority."