A man has suffered serious injuries to his head and face after being struck by a sofa that fell from the roof of a luxury hotel in central London.

The pedestrian, who is in his 20s, was walking past the W hotel on Wardour Street, near Leicester Square, just before 9am on Friday when a metal-framed outdoor sofa fell 130ft to the ground.

Police said the man was taken by air ambulance to Royal London hospital in Whitechapel and was in a critical but stable condition. A Met police spokesman said: “At this early stage it is believed he was injured by a piece of furniture which fell from scaffolding.”

A passer-by told the Sun that the victim “looked like his face had been ripped off”.

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We treated a man at the scene for a major head injury and took him as a priority to a major trauma centre at a hospital in central London.”

A W hotel spokesman said the piece of furniture belonged to one of the private apartments on the top level of the building, the Sun reported.

The private rented W Residences are managed by property company Knight Frank. A spokeswoman for Starwood Hotels, owner of W Hotels, said it was aware of an incident at the Swiss Centre, which houses W London Leicester Square.

“The exact circumstances of this accident are still being investigated by the local authorities, which we support in their investigations,” she said. “Our thoughts and prayers go to the gentleman concerned, who is being treated in hospital for his injuries.”

Police and health and safety officers from Westminster council are investigating the incident.

A spokeswoman for Knight Frank said: “We are aware of an incident in London’s West End. We will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation. We are unable to comment further.”