Horror of shoppers as man falls 80ft from balcony onto passer-by at Westfield Stratford City

- Witnesses say he was dangling by his hands before he fell- Shopper walking underneath took brunt of fall- Both men seriously hurt- Witnesses' fury that man "endangered so many lives"
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Lindsay Watling8 February 2013

Shoppers watched in horror as a man plunged 80ft from a balcony at Westfield Stratford City and landed on a passer-by.

Witnesses described how the man was dangling by his hands and shouting before dropping two floors at about 3.30pm yesterday.

He hit the unsuspecting male shopper outside the Party Fiesta store in The Arcade section of the mall, where many of the children’s shops are situated.

Both men were seriously injured and were taken to the Royal London Hospital by ambulance. The falling man suffered leg and pelvic injuries, while the other had a head injury and back pain.

They were said to be in a stable condition today. Anthony Francis, 45, a shop assistant at Boys Base ran out after hearing a loud thud.

He said he was angry that the man had endangered so many lives, adding: “There are so many families in this part of the centre, mothers walking with prams and pushchairs.

"I just thank God it wasn’t any of them who got hit or a child. If it had been a new-born child, they wouldn’t have survived. The guy walking underneath took the impact from the guy falling — if it wasn’t for him he would be dead.”

A staff member at Krispy Kreme, who asked not to be named, said: “There was lots of shouting before it happened so I thought the man might have been in a fight but then we heard it was attempted suicide.

“There was a man hanging from the balcony and then he just dropped right on top of another guy who was walking along.

“The reaction from the other shoppers was just one of shock. There was no screaming — just an eerie silence. A couple of people ran over to him, including my supervisor and some first-aiders came down too, then the ambulance arrived. It was just shocking.”

A shop assistant at a shoe store said two witnesses had to be taken to hospital to be treated for shock.

A Met spokesman said there were not believed to be any suspicious circumstances. A Westfield spokeswoman said the centre was working with the emergency services.

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