A CRUMBLING Inverclyde railway station became a 'potential death trap' after a large lump of masonry broke off from the top of the building and plummeted around 20 feet onto a platform.

The heavy sandstone chunk smashed onto the ground at Greenock West just inches from recycling bins which are frequently used by passengers to discard drinks cans and other items.

A sharp piece of slate also broke free and fell nearby, with the incident leading to a decision by ScotRail to bypass the station for Gourock-bound trains while a safety assessment was carried out.

One shocked commuter, who did not want to be named, told the Telegraph: "If someone was standing underneath that boulder when it came down they wouldn't have lived to tell the tale.

"That part of the station became a potential death trap as a result of this structural failure."

The stone chunk and piece of slate disrupted early morning services last Thursday and the debris — with a flimsy cordon draped around it — was still in situ on platform two at around 5pm that day as rush-hour commuters made their journeys home.

Another rail user said: "I hope Network Rail have carried out a thorough inspection of the station because.

"There could easily be tragic outcome if something like this happened again.

"We've been pummelled with this stormy weather recently and winter is not over yet."

Trains on the other side of the line travelling from Gourock towards Greenock were unaffected by the incident.

Network Rail say that safety inspections have been carried out in the wake of the incident.

Their spokesman said: "We apologise for the inconvenience this incident has caused to passengers.

"Specialist structural engineers have inspected the stonework and repaired the damaged area.

"They found no other issues with the structure."