THE front of a popular bed shop was destroyed after a van’s handbrake failed, sending it hurtling through a window.

Staff at Bensons for Beds, in Rayleigh Weir, were shocked to find the shopfront destroyed when they arrived for work yesterday morning.

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Damage - the shopfront yesterday morning

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Cordon - police were called by the driver

It is understood the handbrake of the vehicle failed while the driver was parked at the nearby McDonald’s.

Store manager Mikeal Worship said the incident had caused a bit of attention.

He said: “It happened at about 7am on Sunday and I had a call at 9am after the incident.

“The van had gone between two bollards and into the window. It caused a lot of damage.

“It took out the whole structure of the windows and smashed both windows.

“We opened the same day.

“Thankfully there was nobody in the shop at the time - it doesn’t bear thinking about [if there had been].”

The 32-year-old added: “When I got to the store, it was quite a shock. There was glass everywhere.

“Even the police said they had never seen anything like it.

“The car was removed from the window and now it is business as usual.”

He said the store had a healthy trade over the weekend.

The store manager said it was attracted quite a bit of attention from shoppers and other stores.

Mr Worship added: “I do not know exactly how much it will cost to repair the windows, but I do know it won’t be cheap.

“There were a few people asking what had happened and we had other Bensons stores calling us up.

“I am getting sick of telling the same story to be honest.

“We were pleased that it did not affect trade.

“It is all boarded up and we are continuing as usual.

“It didn’t seem to stop people coming into the shop on Mother’s Day.”

The owner also praised the owner if the van for calling the police after the incident.

A small police cordon was set up outside the business.

The window structures caved into the shop and glass covered the floor outside and inside the bed store.