A FAMILY business in Stroud was damaged after a car careered off a main road into a wall.

Police attended Carpet Hotline on the A419/London Road in Brimscombe after reports of a car crashing into the building.

Three cars had collided, with one leaving the carriageway following the impact and then crashing through the wall of the carpet store.

Neal, one of Carpet Hotline’s directors, said he received calls about the smash shortly after it happened around 5.30pm on Sunday night, November 6.

“I came straight down with my wife and children,” he said.

They were met with the shocking sight of a car on its side and a large hole in the side of their business.

“We couldn’t access upstairs, where the office is, it was blocked off by a pile of bricks from the smashed wall.

“So myself and the other directors, Pete, Dawn and Christie, and my friends Dan, Luke and Ben, and Archie from the Ship Inn set about clearing the rubble.

“We were all mucking out in a line, passing the debris from hand to hand.”

As well as clearing the rubble, they sourced a large tarpaulin and sealed up the hole with it.

“The team at the Ship Inn were fantastic and looked after the children while we sorted things out,” said Neal.

“It’s so lucky it happened on a Sunday. If it had been during the week, when staff or customers had been inside, someone could have been badly injured or worse.

“The people in the car were incredibly lucky. The car narrowly missed a gas pipe, electricity cables and a street lamp.”

The store remained closed on the Monday while Neal dealt with his insurance company, and then on Tuesday he called Shire Building and Property Maintenance Ltd.

“They were brilliant,” said Neal.

“Twenty minutes after I phoned them they were here. Their manager told the team to drop their tools and get straight over to us.

“The wall was leaning over, and they had to sort that out and make it safe and secure so we could reopen it to the public.

“It’s been a bit of a nightmare – there’s been structural damage to building, fence and retaining wall. And we’ve lost thousands of pounds of stock due to dust damage.

“But there’s far many people worse off than us, and me and all at Carpet Hotline are thankful no-one was hurt.”

“We’d like to thank everyone who’s helped or offered help - we’re proud to be part of such a supportive community.”

The shop remained closed on Monday and Tuesday while the damage was cleared and the premises made secure. It reopened on Wednesday and is now trading as usual.