AN office worker fell to his death in front of staff inside one of Bristol's biggest office buildings.

The man, who is believed to have been in his 50s, fell three storeys from the top floor at the Axa Centre, in Stoke Gifford, on to the floor of an atrium yesterday afternoon.

Shocked workers at the centre, where 3,000 people work, were sent home by bosses after the incident.

Paramedics and police were called immediately but the man, who had not been named by police last night, was declared dead at the scene.

It is not clear how the man fell from a balcony outside offices on the third floor of the building, which is the headquarters of the Axa insurance firm.

The Evening Post understands that he was an employee of finance firm Capita, which manages life insurance policies for Axa.

It is believed he had been signed off from his job with stress and had only recently returned to work.

The incident occurred at 1.30pm yesterday.

Workers at the centre said they heard a loud noise followed by "shrill screams".

Bosses immediately told staff to remain in their offices as they went to investigate.

As the tragedy became apparent staff were told to keep away from the balconies and main escalators to shield them from the scene in the atrium below.

The distinctive offices are built around a glass atrium which houses a canteen and shops.

One Axa employee, who asked not to be named, said she knew something serious was wrong when she heard shouts of alarm.

She said: "I work on level two of the building. Just before 1.30pm we heard a thudding sound and then a lot of screaming.

"People went out on to the balcony and said they could see a man lying on the floor.

"The managers ran past, looked out and then ordered everyone back into the office and not to leave their desks.

"Five minutes later two women came in, in hysterics and crying, and said that a man had fallen over the top of the balcony on the third level and had hit the floor on the bottom level outside WH Smith.

"It was quite confusing. As we started to hear what had happened people were shocked, and people who saw it were crying, which is pretty understandable.

"We were just stood there and didn't really know what to do. You just don't expect something like this to happen."

Staff were initially told to carry on working and were sent an email telling them not to walk around the balconies, which were guarded by a police community support officer and senior staff.

Then a group email at 2.50pm informed staff that the Axa Centre was to be closed for the rest of the day because of "an incident".

The worker said: "The email didn't say exactly what had occurred, but from what people were saying everyone knew what had happened."

By 3pm the 3,000 staff based at the centre – 900 Capita employees and 2,100 Axa workers – were leaving the site, many in tears.

Staff were instructed not to speak to the press but one woman said: "We don't know exactly what has happened.

"We were just told that a man had hurt himself and that was it. The managers came in to tell us and we are due to come back tomorrow."

Another worker added: "I don't know who the man was. All I know is that a tragic incident has occurred and police are investigating."

In March, Capita announced that it would be cutting 300 staff at its offices in Stoke Gifford.

But staff yesterday said theat there had been no more talk of redundancies recently.

A party due to be held at @Bristol last night to mark the splitting of Axa into two parts, Axa and Friends' Life, was cancelled after the incident.

Capita spokeswoman Caroline Mooney said: "We are aware of a serious incident at our Bristol operations which resulted in the fatality of a member of Capita staff.

"We wish to express the deepest sympathy to his family and colleagues."