cafe roof uk wind
© Twitter / @Joanne10785485High winds caused this part of this building to collapse in Stoke Newington.
A man narrowly avoided being crushed after the roof of a café collapsed onto a busy high street seconds after he walked past.

The passerby was strolling past Stokey Vintage Café on Stoke Newington High Street on Sunday when high winds caused a shower of bricks to fall onto the road.

A video of the incident, which has had more than 100,000 views, prompted many to suggest the "very lucky man" should go and buy a lottery ticket.

​Petulia Mattioli, who had walked past the building a few seconds before, told the Standard: "You never realise how death is real until you face it.

"I cannot believe this, I was just shocked. I stopped at the cafe windows for a few seconds before crossing the road - I was lucky."

A dramatic video shows the moment the rubble crashed to the ground in Stoke Newington yesterday. Ms Mattioli is seen crossing the road before the second man strolls past.

London Fire Brigade said no one was hurt but the clean-up of the rubble took almost two hours.

The cafe, which opened last month, remains sealed off and will be closed until the building gets the all-clear from safety inspectors.

Demet Sahin, who jointly runs the cafe, said her brother Turgay was also left "traumatised" after the rubble narrowly missed him as he stood outside.
uk wind
© REUTERSWorkers remove a tree lying across a road after it was blown over by high winds
She said: "We are very sad about what happened.

"My brother was outside when it happened, and he cannot sleep. He is very much shaken about what happened. He still can't talk about it. This has been very traumatic for him."

Tyler Morris, 24, said: "There was this guy smoking outside and it's a miracle he didn't get hurt, or anyone else for that matter.

"The bricks came crashing down and barely missed him. These were huge chunks of bricks, I knew the winds were strong but I couldn't believe it.

"The sound was unbelievable, it scared the hell out of me. I'm just glad no one was hit."
Scaffolding wind
© (SplashNews.com)Scaffolding fell across the street where Ronnie Wood lives
A group from Hackney Wick FC were fundraising for disadvantaged youths in the area when the collapse happened.

Bobby Kasanga, who works with the team, said: "We literally walked past there - we had just been across the road an hour earlier.

"We were just thankful nobody was hurt and it was a reminder of how short life really is and you can never take anything for granted."

Winds of up to 65mph battered London on Sunday, with fallen trees bringing traffic to a standstill and blocking several major rail lines.

Footage showed aircraft battling to fly and land amid the blustery weather and scaffolding came down in parts of west London.

London Fire Brigade said no one was hurt but the clean-up of the rubble took almost two hours. Photographs showed a huge pile of fallen bricks and debris littering the street. The cafe, which opened last month, remains sealed off and will be closed until the building gets the all-clear from safety inspectors.

It came as gales caused chaos across London, bringing down trees and scaffolding and dislodging wrapping on Grenfell Tower. Trees were removed from roads after falling in Clapham, Kensington and Richmond.

The Met Office is warning that the blustery conditions are set to continue through the week and urged commuters to take care when travelling.

Forecasters warned London would also be hit by heavy rain tomorrow.