STAFF and shoppers at a Mothercare store had a lucky escape after the back wall of a three-storey building collapsed yesterday.

Employees at the branch in Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, evacuated the premises minutes before the wall collapsed, bringing down three floors, after hearing cracking noises.

No one was hurt in the incident, which happened just before 2pm.

Staff from neighbouring stores Topshop, Phones 4u and WH Smith, and those located opposite – Yorkshire Bank, Thorntons, Greggs and Scope – were also evacuated and the area was cordoned off by police and the fire service.

Shocked workers from the nearby shops described fleeing their premises after hearing a loud rumble and feeling their buildings shake.

Steve Davis, manager of the Phones 4u branch next door to Mothercare, said: “We heard a noise that sounded like a rumble, as though somebody had crashed into the wall.

“There was silence for about 30 or 40 seconds then there was a huge noise like thunder and a cloud of dust came out of the building and people were running towards it.

“There are some cracks up one of the walls in our store but we don’t know whether they were there before.”

One woman, who asked not to be named, was on the first floor of a nearby building when the incident occurred.

She said: “I felt our building shudder but I didn’t think anything of it because there is a lot of building work going on nearby so I thought it was from that.

“Then we saw what looked like smoke or dust coming up the street and saw people coming out of the shops. Everybody seemed to stay really calm.”

Some debris was visible in the front window of Mothercare where part of the ceiling had collapsed onto the shop floor.

The rear of the building, which was also cordoned off, had completely collapsed, including part of the roof, leaving a gaping hole in the back of the store.

A spokeswoman for Mothercare said no one was hurt, and the cause of the collapse was being investigated by the fire service.

Inspector Susan Murray, from Durham Police, said: “The fire service and structural engineers are trying to determine what has happened in the building.”

Representatives from Durham County Council’s building control team were also at the scene yesterday with the Civil Contingencies Unit.

Some neighbouring shops are expected to remain closed today.