A woman was taken to hospital with a serious head injury following an incident involving a sign falling from the front of a shop in Norwich today.

The woman could be seen being helped by members of the public outside the Clarks shoe shop in Brigg Street this afternoon while the sign was lying on the floor close to her.

The shop had been undergoing renovations but was still trading, and a spokesman for Clarks said the retailer was investigating the incident.

Norwich City Council is also looking into what happened.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said they were called just after 2pm and sent two ambulances to the scene.

The spokesman said the woman, who is in her 20s and was conscious at the scene, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with a serious head injury.

Norfolk Police also sent an officer to the incident.

A Clarks spokesman said: 'Clarks can confirm that an accident occurred outside our Norwich store, causing injury to a member of the public. We immediately called an ambulance and store staff provided aid whilst awaiting medical assistance. The Norwich store is currently undergoing renovations, although is still trading. We are investigating how this accident occurred and ensuring that the ongoing work does not pose a further risk. We offer our deepest apologies to the injured party and will be in contact with them over the coming days.'

A Norwich City Council spokesman said: 'We haven't received formal notification of the incident but are aware of it and are looking into it.

'The first part will be to establish whether it is something for us to look at or whether it comes under the Health and Safety Executive because the shop was under renovation.'