Elderly driver in shop horror

Staff inside Andrew Curran Car Parts, in Cleveleys, had to jump out of the way of the Vauxhall Corsa as it smashed through the entrance.

The building, on the corner of Anchorsholme Lane East and Kelso Avenue, was left with a gaping hole in the wall following the crash at 9.10am yesterday.

Firefighters were called to help free the man, in his 70s, from the car before he was taken to hospital to be checked over.

Dawn Toner, who works at the shop, said: “I understand the man’s foot got stuck on the accelerator.

“He came right across the road and broke down our front door and wall – it sounded like a bomb going off.

“He must have been coming at some speed to bring the whole wall down.”

The business was forced to close after the electricity supply was cut off, but partially re-opened yesterday afternoon and it was expected to be business as usual today.

She added: “It is lucky that nobody was hurt. It’s where the till is.

“The phone has gone so one of our employees had just moved into the corner – otherwise he would have been in the way of the car.

“He jumped over the counter. He was startled to death. Luckily he’s OK but obviously quite shaken.”

Staff at the shop worked yesterday morning to clear up the debris left behind by the crash.

Work was carried out to secure the site and install temporary doors until a long-term fix can be arranged.

Chiropodist Philip Clayton, whose business is on Anchorsholme Lane East, said: “It was nearly a fatality – the car landed where the counter was.

“The car was about two or three metres into the shop and took out the whole front door.

“I believe staff had to jump out of the way.”

Police, who were called by Lancashire Fire and Rescue shortly after 9.10am, closed a section of the road yesterday morning while emergency services attended the scene.

The driver, who escaped unhurt, had to be helped from his vehicle by firefighters.

Mr Clayton added: “There was considerable damage to the building – thousands and thousands by the looks of it.

“I don’t know how the business is going to get it sorted. There’s a big, big part of the shop that’s been destroyed.”

A Lancashire Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “The driver was trapped in the car. There were no other casualties.

“The casualty was rescued by firefighters and was taken to hospital by ambulance for precautionary check-up.”

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “We were called shortly after 9.10am to a report of a vehicle colliding with a window.

“The road was closed between Kelso Avenue and Magdalen Avenue.

“The man who was in the car, who is in his seventies, was freed from the vehicle and did not appear to be injured.”

Police are appealing for witnesses. Call 101.