Woman injured by falling nightclub sign

A woman was freed by passers-by from beneath a nightclub's 30ft-long sign after it fell on top of her, police said.

A motorist saw the 2.5ft-high wooden sign fall from the Reflex club in Plymouth, Devon, trapping her beneath.

Members of the public rushed to lift the object from the woman following the incident at 11.15am on Saturday. They also gave her first aid until officers arrived.

She was taken from the pavement outside the nightclub in Union Street, and admitted to hospital, where she was treated for a deep cut to the side of her head which needed a number of stitches.

A Plymouth City Council environmental health officer attended the scene and began an investigation.

The injured woman was released from hospital later the same day.

A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said: "Members of the public rushed to lift the sign off the lady and give first aid until police arrived.

"The victim was taken to Derriford Hospital with a deep laceration to the side of her head, which required several stitches."

RAF medic Dean Thomas, who was eating breakfast with his family when the sign plummeted, thought the woman was briefly knocked out but came round quickly.

The 27-year-old told the Plymouth Herald: "It was a very big sign, with nails hanging off the end of it, so it could have been a lot worse.

"I had a look at her head and stuck on a dressing, from the pub's first aid box, to stop the bleeding and held it there until the ambulance arrived."