Fire crews were called to a shop in Llandrindod Wells’ town centre after high winds shattered a window.

The window of an unoccupied flat tower, above KDM Local Newsagents on Station Crescent, was shattered by the wind on Saturday morning causing glass and slate to rain onto the shop below.

Two crews from Llandrindod were called to make the area safe just after 9am using an aerial appliance. They had finished the work by 9.48am.

Kevin Martin, who owns the newsagents and games shop, said: “Basically it was one of the flat windows in the tower part, which is unoccupied, and it had been pulled across by the wind causing it to shatter.

“Glass fell directly onto our building which is below so we had to call the fire brigade to make the shop and the area around it safe.

“To be fair, the fire crews were here within two minutes and they had made the area safe in about half an hour with a high platform.”

Mr Martin, who was on a paper round at the time of the incident, said he understands members of the public informed the staff behind the till of the broken glass who then called him as well as the fire brigade.

“I wasn’t in here but there were two members of staff, and I believe they were informed by a member of the public who came in and said there was broken glass from the building above.

“The fire brigade were escorting people in and out while they were clearing the broken glass, but the shop was able to remain open.”

The shop posted on Facebook to thank the local fire crews for the quick response time and help, which it described as “amazing”.

A Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: “Two crews from Llandrindod Wells attended a property on Station Crescent to remove damaged glass and slate which was on the roof of the property as well.

“The crews used an aerial appliance and put a pedestrian closure in place around the shop while the area was made safe. They also closed the road for the crew’s safety.

“I can’t confirm whether it was caused by high winds, but it would have been unsafe dealing with broken glass in that wind.”

It was not the only building related call-out for the Llandrindod team which was called out for a second time on Saturday to assist a crew from Knighton.

Fire crews were called after slate had fallen onto the pavement on Temple Road and Bridge Street from the roof of the now empty Knighton Hotel on Broad Street.

One Llandrindod crew and one Knighton crew attended at 10.31am on Saturday to clear the loose slate, which took them over two hours.

The spokeswoman said: “One crew from Llandrindod Wells was called to assist one crew from Knighton at 10.31am to clear loose slate and make the area safe around a dangerous structure. The stop time was 12.58pm.”

PS Andy Barden tweeted: “Temple Road closure in place along Bridge Street, Knighton, while Knighton fire crews clear loose roof tiles from the Knighton Hotel”.

It is unknown whether the roof slate was already dislodged when the high winds blew it from the building which has been closed since its new owners, Leisure & Development Limited went into administration in November last year. It is thought the roof of the Grade II-listed building had already been of concern before it was closed.

A police spokeswoman said the administrators of the property had been contacted and advised that any owners of parked cars which had been damaged by fallen slate contact their insurance companies.

A spokesman from the administrators RSM Restructuring Advisory, which is responsible for the hotel, said: “We are aware of this, we’ve had people on site and we are currently speaking to contractors to get the matter addressed.” He did not confirm there was an existing problem with the roof before the slate was blown from the old hotel on Saturday.