A WOMAN has been seriously injured by falling scaffolding in a North Yorkshire town today.

The 65-year-old woman was walking in Piercy End in Kirkbymoorside, when a piece of the scaffolding, which was being removed from around the HSBC branch, fell and hit her at about 11.45am.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said the woman was airlifted to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), had been made aware of the incident.

A Yorkshire Air Ambulance spokeswoman said the woman had suffered serious head and chest injuries and was flown to hospital at 12.30pm. She could not provide an update on the woman's condition.

Richard Waind, owner of Waind & Sons butchers close to the bank, said the scaffolding had been in place for several weeks, and workers had been on site since yesterday morning taking it down, prior to the accident.

Mr Waind said: "They got most of it down and sadly the rest has come down by itself and landed on a car and a little old lady. I don't know if she was trapped but she was hit by a metal pole. There were maybe a dozen poles came down.

"I think it's only come down as they are taking it down and either someone unfastened something they shouldn't have done, or it's just come across from the wall when it shouldn't have. It was quite a big structure when it was up, but at least two thirds of it was removed before it fell."

Police cordoned off the area around Piercy End for several hours while further investigations took place, and the HSBC branch was closed for the afternoon.

Mr Waind said: "I don't know who the lady is, but she's a local lady, and was with her dog. People said she was coming out of the bank.

"I think everyone's concerned about who she is and making sure she's alright. They got her loaded into an ambulance and maybe she took a turn for the worse and the Air Ambulance came and she was transported to hospital."

A spokeswoman for the HSE said an inspector was at the scene and inquiries were being made to determine whether they would take over the investigation.

Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible.