Shoppers hurt as car smashes into front of store
CUSTOMERS LED TO SAFETY BY HOME BARGAINS STAFF
A CAR ploughed into a Home Bargains store in Ashton-under-Lyne in front of horrified shoppers.
The blue Honda vehicle smashed through the front entrance of the store at the Snipe Retail Park at around 12.25pm on Sunday.
Police, fire crews and the ambulance service swooped on the scene and a cordon was set up around the store for a number of hours.
Four people suffered minor injuries and one was taken to Tameside Hospital, North West Ambulance Service confirmed.
None of the casualties were seriously hurt, police officers at the scene said.
Sunday shoppers took to social media to warn people away from the store as they were escorted away from the premises. Many commended Home Bargains staff for remaining calm in the aftermath of the crash. One shopper wrote on Facebook: “This was horrible. I was in there when it happened. It just ploughed right through the door. “The people that work there were great, stayed calm and helped us out a different entrance quickly and called emergency services. Just hope everyone is ok. Very scary.” Photographs taken at the scene show that the car crashed into one the end check-out counters and retail display. The vehicle had also taken out a bollard, plus a large window and sliding glass door at the entrance to the shop. A police officer at the scene confirmed the car had crashed Shopper at the scene of the crash into the front of the shop. The badly damaged car was taken away by a recovery vehicle at around 4pm.
The regional manager of Home Bargains, who was at the store, said he was unable to comment on the circumstances of the crash.
He added: “We’re liaising with the police at this stage. That’s all we’re able to say.”
A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “We were called to Home Bargains by the fire service with a report of potential casualties.
“We sent a car and a HART team (hazardous area response team). Four people at the scene had minor injuries and one was taken to Tameside Hospital.”
A spokesman for the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service added: “We were called at around 12.25pm to one vehicle crashed into commercial premises.
“Four fire engines from Ashton, Heywood and Stalybridge attended.
“Four casualties were treated at the scene by fire personnel.”