A tower crane has collapsed at a large building site beside a major road.

The lofty structure, located on a site in New Dover Road, Canterbury, is believed to have collapsed shortly after 10.30am.

One eyewitness said: "The metal of the crane is all warped on the main beam, and it's now hanging downwards.

"It looks like they're now using a separate red crane to prop it up."

The tip of the crane is touching the ground towards the edge of the building site, near to the University for the Creative Arts which sits behind it.

Another eyewitness reported seeing half-a-dozen workmen surveying the situation, while all other work on the site is believe to have halted.

The New Dover Road site was formerly occupied by four large detached homes, which were flattened last year to make way for a retirement complex.

Developer McCarthy Stone is currently constructing the three-storey block of 50 apartments.

The development will provide one and two-bedroom flats in a “retirement living plus” scheme which will include an on-site bistro and hair salon.

A spokesman for McCarthy Stone said: “We can confirm that there was an incident during the erection of our contractor’s tower crane at our new retirement living development.

"No one was hurt during the incident. Our health and safety team is attending the site immediately to assess the situation.”