A CRICKET fan has spoken of his shock after spectators sitting yards from him plunged through a stand and suffered injuries while watching an international cricket match.

Durham County Cricket Club has launched an inquiry into why a hole in the flooring of the North-East Terrace of the Emirates Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street as England took on the West Indies in a T20 fixture.

Supporters had to grab nearby seats to stop themselves falling into the hole in the Newcastle International Airport-sponsored stand, which was moved to the ground following use at the London 2012 Olympics for beach volleyball.

Around 200 supporters were evacuated from the area at around 9pm on Saturday by police and stewards amid fears more of the flooring could give way.

The North East Ambulance service took one of the three injured fans to the RVI Hospital in Newcastle, suffering from a fractured leg. The woman was still being treated there yesterday for non-life-threatening injuries.

Christian Cerisola, 42, from Whitley Bay, who was around 20ft away from the hole, said: “I was on the edge of the next block where they stopped the evacuation.

“I had a clear view of the hole - there was a steward stood over it and a lot of police activity.

“The usual instinct is to think there had been a bit of crowd trouble. Once it was clear it wasn’t crowd trouble I wondered what it might be.”

The T20 match, which attracted around 13,000 people, was the first international to be played at Durham County Cricket Club’s home ground, since financial problems emerged and it was given a £3.8m bail-out.

It is understood Durham County Council had carried out inspections of the stand last week.

No one from the authority was available for comment when contacted by The Northern Echo.

Mr Cerisola said: “It is a real shame and I really feel for the club. Everyone there is working hard to get it on an international standing. Something like this takes the shine of what was otherwise a great occasion. It is very unfortunate.”

Armed police had attended the event as the terror threat across the country remained at ‘critical’ in the wake of the attempted bombing of a tube train in the capital on Friday.

Speaking about the evacuation, Mr Cerisola said: “I don’t think there was any panic about what happened in London on Friday or that it was anything sinister.

“In a situation like that safety is paramount. If there is a weak point in the stand then who is to say there are no more? I am sure they took the appropriate action. It was pretty swift and pretty calm. There were no complaints from anyone.”

A Durham Constabulary spokesman said there had been "an orderly evacuation" of spectators.

The club has begun collecting witness statements from stewards and first responders as part of its inquiry.

A club spokesman said: "The stand is a permanent fixture at the venue and had passed inspections in the week prior to the match."

Afterwards Windies captain Carlos Brathwaite said some of his players felt conditions on the pitch were "unsafe" and was prepared to take an abandonment after wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton slipped while fielding, needing lengthy treatment.