Man dies after being crushed by public urinal near Trafalgar Square

Police say the man was working on the toilet, close to The Palace Theatre in London’s West End

Emergency services attend the site on Friday afternoon (Getty Images)

A man has died after he was crushed by a telescopic public urinal he was working on in central London.

Emergency services raced to the scene in the West End on Friday to attempt to free the maintenance worker, who become trapped underneath the unit. A rescue operation was launched just after 1pm between Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road, near the capital’s busy theatre district.

The London Fire Brigade sent four fire engines and around 25 firefighters, and with the help of police and paramedics at the scene managed to free the man but he was pronounced dead soon after.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “We’re sorry to have to update that, despite the efforts of emergency services, the man who was critically injured in Cambridge Circus was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed. Cordons remain in place at the location.”

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The man had become trapped underneath the hydraulic urinal, a toilet stowed below ground which is brought to street level at night for people to use.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters were called to a person trapped on Charing Cross Road in central London.

“A man was trapped below street level underneath a hydraulic urinal. Firefighters worked with partner agencies and used a winch to free him.

“He was left in the care of London Ambulance Service and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.”

Police say the man was working on a telescopic urinal at the location, close to The Palace Theatre (Getty Images)

A crane was brought to the scene as part of efforts to lift the entire structure out of the ground. Road closures were in place through Cambridge Circus during the attempted rescue, while buses were diverted away from the area.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson added: “We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, members of our hazardous area response team, members of our tactical response unit and a medic in a fast response car.

“We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance. Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a man was pronounced dead at the scene.”