A flagship Shrewsbury store was closed today after part of the ceiling collapsed causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.A problem with a heating system caused a water leak at Jane Norman in the Pride Hill Shopping Centre, leaving it unsafe and drenching stock and the floor.

The next door store, Passion for Perfum,e also had to close for a few hours because of the problem.

Clothes store Peacocks was also affected, with an electrician being called out but the store did not have to close.

Shopping centre staff discovered the heating system problem, which caused water to pump out, at 6am this morning and advised bosses at the affected stores.

Emma Bates, manager at Jane Norman, said they were told at 7am and came in to clean the floor, part of which was flooded by an inch or two of water. She said part of the roof fell in at 10am, but nobody was injured.

Three six-foot rails of clothes were drenched, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

“We were at the till point and the electrician was looking to see if he could drill some holes in the ceiling,” Emma said.

“The roof just fell in because the water that had been absorbed had weakened it. We have people on their way who are going to strip the whole thing down.

“We’re hoping to be open tomorrow morning.”

She said people were unable to go in the affected part of the store for safety reasons, while yellow cones warning of flooding were left at the entrance.

Claire Goodwin, manager of Passion for Perfume, said a bay of stock had been damaged and the carpet and part of the wall left wet by the incident.

She said: “I was phoned and told to come in as soon as possible. I opened the door to the shop and realised it had got in and damaged stock in the shop. It’s caused about £1,500 to £2,000 worth of damage.”

Centre manager Nicholas Pitt said the cause of the collapse had been identified as a split in rubber connector in a compressor unit in the heating system.

“It just pumped water out,” said Mr Pitt.

No other premises were at risk because this particular system only existed in the part of the centre containing the three shops.

By John Kirk