Passer-by's face 'ripped off' as sofa falls from penthouse of five-star West End hotel

A passer-by reportedly had his face "ripped off" when he was struck by a sofa as it fell from the penthouse of a five-star hotel in the Leicester Square area of London. The man, who is believed to be in his 20s, suffered a serious head injury after as he walked past the W London Hotel in the popular tourist area on the morning of 30 October. The two-seater sofa is believed to have dropped from scaffolding outside one of the private penthouses, known as the W Residences, on the top floor of the West End building.

The hotel confirmed the incident was related to furniture from one of the privately-owned apartments. A helicopter ambulance took the man to a central London hospital, where his condition is described as "critical but stable". A witness told The Sun newspaper: "The sofa came flying over the top of the hotel's flat roof. I can't understand how something that big and heavy came to fall over the edge."

He added that the "smartly-dressed" pedestrian "looked like his face had been ripped off". A staff member at another hotel nearby said: "The sofa was on the back of his head and there was blood all around it. It was horrific." The police were also alerted. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Police were called at 08.54hrs on Friday 30 October to reports of a pedestrian injured in Wardour Street, W1. At this early stage it is believed he was injured by a piece of furniture which fell from scaffolding. The man aged in his 20s taken to an east London hospital by London's Air Ambulance."

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman stated: "We were called at 8.52am to Wardour Street after reports of a person being hit by a falling object. We treated a man at the scene for a major head injury and took him as a priority to a major trauma centre to a hospital in central London."