£100,000 bar bill
A lucky escape for drinkers as driver crashes BMW into side of packed pub
A man has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after a car crashed through the side of a pub packed with drinkers.
The Fox in Maidstone’s Hartnup Street faces a £100,000 repair bill after the BMW ploughed into the building, leaving a woman sitting at thet front injured with wh hiplash.
Staff likened the impact , on Friday at 10.30pm, to an earth-quake shaking the venue.
Landlord Michael Hawn ey managed to stay open overo the weekend with the car stills embedded in the wall.
A pub has been left with a huge repair bill after a car smashed into the side of it.
Landlord of The Fox in Hartnup Street, Michael Hawney, said it was lucky no one was seriously hurt after a blue BMW ploughed into the building at about 10.30pm on Friday, when the bar was packed with around 40 people.
He said: “People sit outside here all the time. If the car had gone in at the front there would have been lots of serious injuries, I imagine.”
One woman, who was sitting on a bench inside at the front was taken to hospital to be treated for whiplash but no one else was hurt.
Police arrested a 53-year-old man from Brentford on suspicion of drink-driving. He has been released while further enquiries are made.
Barmaid Marianne Roberts was behind the bar when the car came careering through.
“I just heard this almighty bang and it literally shook the building. It almost felt like an earthquake.
“There were a couple of ladies sitting in the corner that got hit but it could have been a lot worse.”
The 39-year-old ran to the door and I saw the driver in the car looking dazed. “I don’t know how the guy survived,” she added. “I went back inside and all I could see was a haze of dust and there was an oily smell. I opened some windows – I didn’t know if the car was going to go bang.”
The driver was taken into the bar to wait for police.
Mr Hawney, pictured, said the pub stayed open over the weekend with the car in situ.
“A structural engineer said we would not be able to get the car out because it was holding up the building.” It’s estimated repairs, now underway, will cost more than £100,000. The car was removed on Tuesday after temporary structural supports were installed.