Construction work was continuing today on the £35 million Abraham Darby Academy site in Telford after a steel canopy collapsed injuring five workers.

The men were injured when the canopy collapsed on Thursday while they were working on top of it.

The workers had to be pulled from the wreckage by fire and ambulance crews after large sections of the canopy came down at the site of the new academy in Madeley.

Bricks continued to fall from the building in the minutes after the collapse and windows which had been pulled loose were left swinging in the wind.

Four people were taken to hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries, while a fifth man was treated for minor injuries. Bosses at the Kier Group, which is building the new school, said all five men are now out of hospital.

The cause of the incident is now being investigated, but one theory is that a large steel pillar holding up one end of the canopy buckled under the weight.

A Telford & Wrekin Council spokesman said Kier employees were on site today but were working on a different part of the development.

A statement on the council’s website says: “The academy is contacting parents directly by post and it will also operate a helpline for anyone with any questions until Friday.

“Any new information will be posted on the academy’s website and work is continuing on parts of the existing academy site.”

The council has also set up a question and answer section on its website. Education bosses have said it is too early to say if the incident will affect the opening date of January next year.

The drama unfolded just hours after scores of students visited the current school on the same site to pick up their GCSE results.

The road was sealed off by police and Health and Safety Executive officers were also called to the site and began an immediate investigation.

The incident also saw Ironbridge Road closed overnight.

By Jason Lavan