Butchers in Balsall Common closed after car crashes through shop

A car has crashed through the front of a village butcher’s just days after it reopened following a major refurbishment.

The vehicle ploughed into the front window of Eric Lyons Butchers on Station Road in Balsall Common, near Coventry, just after 12:00 GMT.

Nick Lyons, from the family-run business that dates back to the 1800s, said the crash caused extensive damage, with the car going through “90% of the front of the shop”. The premises will now be shut for repairs until January.

In a Facebook post, Lyons said a customer and two staff members were inside the shop at the time but nobody was hurt. West Midlands Ambulance Service said a woman was assessed but discharged at the scene.

“There was a customer in the back right, and two members of staff were behind the butcher’s counter and jumped up on the wooden block, so we are all fine,” Lyons said.

“Everyone is safe; please do not worry, and it will look beautiful again come January.”

The Balsall Common branch had reopened on Monday after being closed for two weeks for extensive refurbishment works.

Lyons told the BBC there was a customer in a corner and “luckily Rach was out the back sorting the hot food out”.

“So I reckon 80% of the shop someone would have been critically injured, or if not, worse. So yeah, [a] miracle has happened basically today.

“The most important thing is no-one has been injured.”