Warning after wall collapses outside hall

A section of wall below a Devon village hall has collapsed and remains "unstable", a council says.

Dittisham Parish Council said on Facebook on Wednesday that part of the wall on The Level had fallen and led to a road closure.

The council added the wall, which is about 30ft (9.1m) tall and 20ft (6m) long, fell at about 23:30 BST on Tuesday.

The post from the council said: "Wall above still unstable and in danger of further collapse."

Richard Bond, the parish council's vice-chairman, said the wall was about 15ft (4.5m) away from the village hall and there was no risk to the hall or other nearby buildings.

He said people in about 40 homes were at risk of being cut off by the cordon set up by Devon County Council at the scene and people had been asked to move their cars.

Mr Bond said: "It was a bit worrying when it happened, but we have been trying to get as many cars out as possible.

"Devon County Council has been fantastic and were here within an hour of being called."

Mr Bond added said the cause of the collapse was being investigated, but was thought to have been caused by the recent heavy rain.

He said a bulge in the wall, thought to have been caused by a leaking pipe, had been reported earlier this year and South West Water was called out to deal with it.

There had been reports of other walls in the surrounding area such as in Dartmouth that had also collapsed recently, Mr Bond said.

The parish council said a clean-up operation at the site was taking place.

A spokesperson said: "The Village Hall Management Committee, which owns the wall, is in contact with contractors and working to make safe and get the road open again."

Devon County Council said the wall was made safe overnight but, due to the rubble at the scene, the road would remain closed.

A spokesperson for the council said: "[The] Wall is privately owned and it is the responsibility of the landowner to resolve the issue and appoint a structural engineer."

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