A string of large outdoor lights fell across Wharf Street over the weekend, with council officials suggesting the masonry they were attached to was to blame.

The incident is believed to have happened early on Saturday morning, with Tauranga City Council suggesting the imported Italian lights crash-landed at around 3am before being cleared up.

The lights were photographed strewn across Wharf Street by a witness on Saturday morning. Photos: Supplied.

However, photos sent to SunLive from a passerby show the lighting still lying across the road in broad daylight.

A structural engineer assessed the safety of the street and ordered two additional strings of lights to be removed as a precaution, says TCC spokesperson.

'His preliminary assessment was that the building masonry was most likely at fault, not the installation or fixings,” they say. 'A full assessment is now underway.”

The assessment was made via the verandas above the footpath, where the remainder of fixtures and fittings were checked.

The witness who took the pictures says: 'It was a clear sunny day, no wind and, luckily, very early in the day when these lights fell to the ground.

'Any later and someone could have been killed. Imagine if this had happened on Sunday with lots of people in town at a council promoted event in Wharf Street.”

The ‘Eat Street' dining precinct in Wharf Street between The Strand and Willow Street was opened barely two weeks ago.

It is an initiative paid for largely by local businesses with the support of TCC, intended to attract more people into the city's central business district.