Residents and motorists were treated to a cloud of construction dust this morning as work on the former Imperial Hotel in Sliema start.

Part of the building was demolished with no dust mitigation measures, turning the popular seaside town into a veritable construction site.

While cars were stopped from driving down St Mary Street, residents and motorists watched in disbelief as a dust storm enveloped one of the most picturesque areas of Sliema.

The Sliema council said it had informed the police and the building regulations officer about the breach.

A resident who spoke to Times of Malta expressed disbelief as a cloud of dust enveloped a police officer standing close by.

“This is crazy. A policeman who was standing close by had to walk away. It's very clear that no precautions were taken to avoid this,” the resident said.

The resident, who lives close to the former hotel, said that not only had demolition works become the order of the day in Sliema but it seemed that many were also failing to take precautionary measures, to the detriment of those in the area.

An architect who happened to be driving through the area said the normal procedure before demolition is carried out dictates that the building is gutted out and asbestos is carefully removed by a specific company in what is normally a costly procedure.