Fulham 'sinkhole': Woman falls down hole after 'ignoring makeshift safety barriers' on pavement

Pictures flooded social media amid reports that the woman had been taken to a nearby hospital

(Emily Heno, via Twitter)

A woman was taken to hospital after ignoring makeshift safety barriers blocking a hole in the pavement in a smart west London borough early this morning.

The unidentified woman fell down the hole just outside restaurant Marrakesh Express in North End Road, Fulham, at around 9am this morning apparently after she had failed to notice the warning barriers around the area where the pavement had collapsed earlier.

Witnesses said they heard a loud scream as the woman disappeared.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed that the unidentified woman was taken to a West London hospital after a pavement “collapsed” underneath her, but that officers had now left the scene and there were no other injuries reported.

Local stallholders said they had seen the woman vanish into the ground.

"The woman fell down and they went down to the basement to get her,” one told the Evening Standard. “The pavement collapsed earlier so they had put the tables and chairs around the hole to stop people walking near it.”

Pictures flooded onto social media showing the scene, apparently showing what appeared to be rescue crews working outside as shocked residents walked past.

But he told the London newspaper the woman had “just ignored the barriers” and fallen into the hole before being rescued.

London Ambulance Service said in a statement: "The patient was shaken but not seriously injured and we took her to Charing Cross Hospital."

Another local mentioned that a man had also fallen into the hole moments earlier, causing restaurant owners to place chairs around the collapsed pavement. The man declined to go to hospital.

Kate Sissons, walking in the area when the incident occurred, wrote on Istagram: “OMG! Poor woman and pram just disappeared down this hole on North End Rd. Shes stuck down there.”

The Met Police spokesperson denied reports that a child had been involved in the incident.