An electrical store which had a car smash through its shop window was the scene of an almost identical crash – 76 YEARS AGO.
A green Volkswagen Passat caused thousands of pounds of damage after crashing through the shop window of Tavistock Sound and Vision in Bedford.
Now it has been discovered that a car also crashed into the shop when it was the small electrical store Gollings and Ayres back in 1935.
“The son of the man who owned the shop in the 1930’s brought an old black and white photo of the crash into show us when he heard about the recent accident,” said shop manager Peter Dimmick, 51.
“We were really surprised. We had no idea an almost identical crash had happened before.
“His dad had taken the picture when a car crashed into the shop in 1935 and passed it onto his son when he died.
“It’s quite strange as both crashes happened in the middle of the night.”
The latest crash at the shop, which is on a busy junction in the centre of Bedford, happened at about 1.15am. The car remained stuck in the shop window until later that afternoon when structural engineers said it was safe to be removed. The crash damaged all the stock in the window and destroyed the front of the shop, but the family-owned business was able to continue trading as normal the next day.
They have even put a huge poster showing the crash on the damaged window saying they are “Britain’s first drive-thru electrical store” with “smashing bargains.”
“All the staff came in and helped clear up but it will be three or four weeks before the damage is repaired,” he added.
“When we were cleaning up someone quipped we must be Britain’s first drive-thru electrical store so we put up the poster.
“Because there is only a board covering up the damage we can hear people laughing outside.
“We hope there are no more similar instances, 76 years is a long time between accidents, but I guess there are more cars on the road now.”
A spokesman for Bedfordshire police said the driver had attended Bedford police station on Monday with respect to failing to stop for an accident, failing to report an incident and driving without due care and attention.
A report will now be sent to the Crime Prosecution Service.
