SHOPPERS have had a lucky escape after a car smashed into a store in the middle of Dursley after the driver lost control of her vehicle.

A green Ford Fusion left the road on Silver Street at around 5pm on Friday last week (December 13) and hit three cars before lodging itself in the Filling Station sandwich shop.

The driver, an 81-year-old woman from Dursley, was not hurt but shaken up after the accident.

Gloucestershire Police spokesman Christopher Jackson said the woman had attempted to go round the roundabout and back the way she came on Castle Street before hitting a kerb, losing control of the car and then accelerating into the shop.

Police, firefighters and an ambulance was quickly on the scene and the narrowness of the road meant that one way traffic had to be put in place in the middle of the rush hour on Friday and traffic quickly built up in the surrounding area.

The front of the Ford was severely damaged and the airbags had deployed during the collision, which smashed several windows of the shop and causing significant damage to the brickwork.

The inside of the store was littered with debris and the brickwork of the left hand side foyer had been pushed further into the shop.

Owner of the Filling Station Paul Maddock has ran the business for 11 years and lamented the loss of trade after he was forced to keep the store closed for several days, but was thankful nobody was hurt.

“It was 5pm on a Friday. Next door the hairdressers were full of people so it could have been far worse,” he said.

"It was very unfortunate, a real shock."

Mr Maddock now has to wait for a structural engineer to check the integrity of the building has not been compromised before he can reopen.

“I hope to open on Wednesday (December 18) but I need to check with my insurance company to make sure the place is safe,” he said.

A Hyundai Santa Fe, a Fiat Dublo van and a Renault Megane were all damaged by the Ford before it came to a stop.

A South Western Ambulance Service spokeswoman said they had received a call about the collision on Friday and sent an ambulance but nobody was found to have been injured.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue service said that two fire engines from Dursley Fire Station initially went to the scene after it was reported that a car was on fire.

But it was discovered there was no fire so crews helped make the car safe by disconnecting the battery and were on the scene for less than half an hour.