A former landmark Hull department store has had a hoarding placed around it after asbestos was exposed in the building, the BBC has reported.

The disused BHS building and its mosaic are part of a key redevelopment of the area.

“Some of the cladding has started to come away and asbestos is being exposed”, said a Hull City Council statement. The hoarding was erected to “ensure public safety”, they added.

It is working with Emmaus, a charity for the homeless, to help rough sleepers who had been camping recently under the building’s canopy.

The charity was providing support and accommodation, said the council. The council is purchasing the site to be part of the planned Albion Square development and the hoarding was put up with the agreement of the current owners, it said.

The shop building is well-known for the large Three Ships mosaic by artist Alan Boyson. It comprises almost one million pieces of Italian glass on a 20m x 19.5m concrete screen.

The work was commissioned by the Co-Op, which owned the building in 1963.

Campaigners are lobbying for the mosaic to be listed.