RAWLINSON Street in Barrow was re-opened six hours after a lorry collided with a house.

A large wagon collided with a house in Rawlinson Street at around 6.30am on Tuesday after attempting to turn around in Whitehead Street. Scaffolding which had been erected on the house was ripped from the brickwork.

Employees from Carlisle-based building firm Top Notch Contractors, which is carrying out external improvement work on a row of houses in Rawlinson Street on behalf of Barrow Borough Council, said a team was due to arrive from Liverpool at around 9.30am to attempt to fix the scaffolding.

The firm's site manager said a large, articulated lorry had collided with the side of the house while attempting to reverse around the corner. The collision ripped the pegs out of the brickwork and pulled the scaffolding loose.

Philip Rheinbach, a director at Top Notch, said: "Safety is the priority and we are dealing with the situation as an emergency."

At 10.45am a team from Top Notch was onsite and begun work to make the scaffolding safe. The road was re-opened at around 12.30pm.