Police closed off a main road when a bank’s stone front partially collapsed onto the pavement this morning.

Firefighters were called to the State Bank of India, in Finchley Road, Golders Green, when part of the concrete facing broke away shortly before 10.30am.

London Fire Brigade asked police to close the road in both directions while its crews went up to inspect the damage in a bucket lift.

The crews removed some loose concrete and declared the building safe by 11.30am, when the road was reopened.

The bank was closed for about half an hour while firefighters dealt with the incident but has since reopened.

Jaydeep Patel, a personal banker at the branch, said firefighters believed frost was to blame for the stone coming loose.

He said: “It looked like a massive going on with the road being closed but they moved very quickly and it was only closed for a short time.

“It was a bit of excitement I suppose on an otherwise normal day.”