An investigation is expected to take place after scaffolding being used during the demolition of a former bus depot collapsed into the middle of a busy street.

Police had to shut Magdalen Street, Colchester, for several hours on Saturday night after the temporary structure fell down and blocked the road.

Fortunately, nobody was nearby when it fell down at about 7.30pm and nobody was hurt.

The depot, which is owned by Colchester Council, has been derelict for several years.

Victoria Hall Management Limited have had plans for 230 student flats given the go ahead by the council’s planning committee.

Last week, the authority announced demolition work was due to start which would see the main structure and smaller outbuildings torn down but some historic features retained as plans for the apartments continue.

Havering Demolition is handling the process but the scaffolding was sub-contracted to 1st Class Scaffolding.

Director of the scaffolding firm, Jeff Thompson, visited the site and helped secure the structure at 11.45pm on Saturday.

He insisted the scaffolding was safe when he originally installed it.

“The Health and Safety Executive will now get involved as with any incident like this,” he said.

“We went down there on Saturday night after receiving a call from the police saying it had fallen over and it was the first we knew about it.

“When I installed the scaffolding, it was safe and I took photographs to show the job we had done.”

Mr Thompson said he believed something may have been moved or tampered with on the scaffolding for it to fall down even in relatively high winds.

Plans to build 230 student homes at the depot, which was last used by First Essex to store its fleet, were originally approved by the planning committee in 2016.

But Colchester’s high steward and former long-serving Liberal Democrat MP Sir Bob Russell has been an outspoken critic of the scheme, saying it features too many flats, and they will be too tall and too ugly for the area.

But the former bus depot has become and eyesore in the area and there has been a number of serious fires reported at the building since 2017.

The fires are believed to have been started by rough sleepers trying to take shelter there.

Damage and graffiti has also been discovered inside the building.

The most recent blaze was in October and council bosses pledged to speed up plans as a result.

Colchester Council still owns the building.

A spokesman for the authority said: “Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident and we will be working with all concerned to find out what happened.”