A Huddersfield town centre shop sign - that was recently branded ‘dangerous’ by Kirklees Council - has reportedly fallen and hit a homeless man on the head.
Footasylum in King Street was told at a planning meeting in June that its bright green sign could be distracting to road users.
But now it seems the sign has proved even more dangerous to pedestrians.
Jane Gonzalez was in the town centre shopping in the early afternoon when said she saw part of the large sign fall.
She said a piece of the sign’s long green underline - beneath the word ‘Footasylum’ - landed on a blonde-haired homeless man who often sits in front of the shoe store.
Jane reckoned the sign must have caused some damage as it hit the man in the head.
“He did look injured,” she said. “His head was red and he was rolling around on the floor.”
Footasylum staff came out of the store to help and Jane rushed over to lend assistance as well.
Soon after the police arrived and an ambulance was called.
Jane continued: “I felt bad for the homeless guy. Most people would think ‘I’m going to claim compensation’ for injuries but I don’t know if he’d know to do that.It
A Footasylum spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an incident involving a member of the public occurred at our Huddersfield store on 20th July 2018. Emergency services were called and we are investigating the matter.”
The national retail chain, based in Rochdale, has submitted plans for a new sign on its King Street outlet following the judgement of Kirklees Council that its current one is “dangerous” and “unsympathetic and inappropriate” to its surroundings.
Footasylum said it had said listened to the council’s concerns and had updated its plans.
It said: “The new sign is projecting less over the fascia band and the illumination has been replaced with trough lighting rather than fully lit illuminated letters.
“The depth of the letters has also been reduced. We are currently in dialogue with the council.”
