Council building teams say they will monitor a high street premises going forward after a huge shop sign fell onto the path below in Folkestone town centre.

Shocked shoppers remarked that somebody could have died when a Debenhams sign smashed to the ground last Wednesday, which resulted in the council issuing them with a 'dangerous building notice'.

The board, thought to be approximately 10m long, collapsed on the Bouverie Square side of the building, next to Burger King, where a cordon was placed around the debris.

One shopper at the scene said: "That easily could have killed somebody."

A Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) spokeswoman said: "We have served a dangerous building notice and the work necessary to make the building safe is being carried out behind the protective scaffolding.

"Although we will continue to monitor the situation, we do not envisage that any further action will be necessary."

A local authority may serve a dangerous building notice where no immediate action is deemed necessary but it is still considered to be in a dangerous condition.

The notice is not required if emergency work completely removes the danger, but if part of the building is still dangerous, a notice must be served.

Once the work has been carried out, the requirement of the notice has been fulfilled and therefore ends.

Our reporter Sean Axtell went to visit the scene in the aftermath. He said at the time: "There's danger more is going to fall down.

"There's several tonnes of signage which has fallen, including the whole Debenhams sign.

"One of the bosses said that nobody was hurt.

"I can see what looks like damp, maybe rotten wood.

"The wooden girders look as if they have fallen into disrepair. There's currently a clutch of onlookers looking on in disbelief.

"It's really lucky nobody died."

Debenhams staff would not comment at the scene.

The FHDC building control team were not called to the site at the time of the incident, but went to 'look and advise the building's owners on any necessary steps to make it safe'.

Eyewitnesses reportedly looked on in shock, with one saying that it was fortunate it did not happened during the height of summer when it could have been a bustling day.

Two police officers were also said to be on the scene.

A Debenhams spokesman said: "We have been working closely with the council since the incident and have a robust plan of work in place, which will start this week.

"No-one was hurt in the incident and we are investigating what happened as a matter of urgency.

"We have a rolling maintenance programme in all stores, and maintenance around the signage was carried out within the last 12 months."

The company spokesman noted that safety barriers were installed around the perimeter of the affected area, which has been surveyed by a FHDC building inspector.

The inspector has approved and agreed their maintenance plan. It has been said that this will not impact on the store any further.

The reason for the shop front's collapse has not been confirmed.

A police spokesman said: "Police were called at 3.30pm to concerns over a shop sign in Sandgate Road, Folkestone.

"Officers attended the scene to assist with keeping the immediate area safe for members of the public."

The Health and Safety Executive were approached for comment and confirmed that the local authority would be responsible for any investigations or potential resulting enforcement action in this circumstance.