Chippy gets battered

Daniel Rishman, who runs A Different Kettle of Fish in Willowhayne Crescent East Preston, was behind the counter in his shop when a car driven by an elderly woman crashed through the front window.

"It frightened the life out of me," he said. "I was standing just a few feet away from the window behind the counter when I heard the smash and lots of brick dust flew up into the air. The wall had been punched through and the fridges and freezers shot across the floor."

The accident happened at around 12.30pm when an elderly woman driving an automatic Toyota Corolla lost control of the car while parking and crashed into two parked cars.

The first was a Renault Clio which hit an Astra van, the woman then hit another Astra before smashing into the shop.

Police confirmed that the woman, who was from East Preston, was shaken but not hurt in the accident.

"I heard an engine revving wildly and went to open the blind to see who it was thinking it was a boy racer, but before I could get there the car hit the shop," said Mr Rishman. "Thankfully we were shut at the time so no-one was injured and the old lady seemed ok.

"She didn't speak to me and seemed shocked at what had happened but she wasn't injured.

"People are still coming down to the shop and I have put up a sign to say we are closed and a picture of the accident to show why.

"Hopefully we'll be back open as soon as possible but it's all resting on the insurance company now."

As well as smashing through a small wall outside the shop and then through the chip shop window, the impact of the crash also caused considerable damage to the shop's 15,000 frying range which may have to be replaced.

Mr Rishman, who has run the shop since last August, said that his insurance company is currently deciding whether to repair or replace the range and it could be up to five weeks before the shop re-opens.