Workers at a Bradford warehouse were today left shocked after a man fell through the roof of the building and plunged to his death.

Police and ambulance crews were called to the Co-op distribution centre in Cutler Heights Lane, but the worker, who was not employed by the firm, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man, who was 45 and self-employed, was working on the roof at about 9am when he fell to the concrete floor below.

Co-op employees working close by immediately raised the alarm but all efforts to save him failed.

As shocked workers consoled each over the tragedy, police swiftly pulled down the large shutters at the front of the building and cordoned off the scene.

Officers from the Health and Safety Executive were immediately called to inspect the site where the man fell.

A police sergeant at the scene said: "At the moment all I can say that a man who was working on the roof fell through and is now deceased."

It is not yet clear what the man was doing on the roof. Police said they could not release his name because his next of kin were yet to be informed.

Tony Henry, chief executive of Bradford-based Yorkshire Co-operative was unobtainable. A spokeswoman for the company said: "At the moment we have no comment to make on the incident."

After the accident, work came to a standstill at the large site and lorries remained parked up at the front of the building.

A spokeswoman from the Leeds-based Health and Safety Executive said: "I can confirm that a formal investigation into the incident has been launched."

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