A man suffered a suspected broken leg when a metal pulley fell on him as he sat in a seafront shelter.
He had been reading a book with a friend on the bench in the upper shelter at the Madeira lift in Brighton when the rusting lump of metal crashed through the ceiling.
The heavy wheel, which was housed in the roof of the shelter overlooking Madeira Drive above the Concorde 2 nightclub, brought down wooden ceiling planks as it fell.
The 55-year-old man was showered with wood and debris as the pulley fell on to his leg yesterday afternoon.
He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital for treatment and police sealed off the lift.
His friend escaped unhurt.
The lift, which exits into the Concorde 2, has not been in operation this season.
Health and safety officers are to investigate how the pulley came loose.
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