A teenage girl has been safely talked down by police from a ledge above a multi-storey shopping centre in Torquay.

The girl in her late teens had climbed over the edge above a service yard at the back of the Union Square shopping centre.

Police were called and the incident took more than an hour before it was safely resolved.

A police spokesman said: "We were called to a concern for welfare at Union Square in Torquay. A female was on top of the car park but she came down of her own accord and is safely with police officers now."

Centre manager Richard Randle-Jones raised the alarm after spotting the young woman on the ledge just 20 metres from his office window on the third floor.

Union Square, Torquay
Union Square, Torquay

The woman was on the third floor of the car park on a ledge above the secluded rear service yard. Shoppers were unaware that the incident was happening.

He said: "I looked out and spotted the person on the ledge and immediately called the police.

"They got to her extremely quickly and were talking to the young woman. The whole situation took about an hour and 15 minutes.

"The person was very young, in her late teens. We understand she had been missing from home.

Union Square car park

"We are trained to manage major incidents - but until you experience it yourself you don't realise how much it will affect you.

"I am glad to say that the situation was safely resolved. The public could not see what was happening. It was quite hidden which in a way made it more worrying."