A shop owner has spoken out after a car mounted the pavement and smashed into the front of his shop.
Richard Stanley, owner of R Stanley Windows and Doors, is today counting the cost following the dramatic collision.
Emergency services were called to the shop in South Shields on Sunday after a car mounted the pavement before ploughing into the building.
No-one is known to have been hurt in the collision, but the BMW caused extensive damage to the building, on Dean Road.
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Today Mr Stanley, who owns the business and the building beside it, has told of his shock at seeing the damage.
But the 49-year-old told ChronicleLive he is also relieved no-one was hurt in the crash.
Richard said: "Luckily no-one was killed. There was carnage when I got there."
Richard said he went straight to his shop after finding out what had happened by a phone call, on Sunday evening.
When he arrived he said saw the front of his business premises had been badly damaged, along with a wall outside the adjacent property, which Richard also owns.
"It basically took the bin out on the corner, rammed into the shutters, took the shutters off the front of the shop and damaged the wall," he explained. "I would say about £20,000 of damage.
"I own the building above and next door and it's an HMO full of students. The wall is where the smoking area is.
"If there had been anyone standing at the front they could have been killed."
Emergency Services were called to the scene, at around 5.35pm.
When firefighters arrived the car was empty.
A spokeswoman for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: "We attended the incident at 5.35pm We got the call off the police.
"We sent one pumps, then a second pump as the car was an electric vehicle. There was one shop damaged by the vehicle."
Northumbria Police have been contacted for a comment.
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