THE owner of a family-run Italian tavern which has been forced to close after a car smashed into the restaurant in the early hours of the morning has spoken out.

Nicky Renoldi, who runs Gino’s Taverna, in King Street, Stanford-le-Hope, got a call at 3.30am saying a blue Saab had ploughed into the venue.

The firm has said no one from the restaurant was injured.

Essex Police has confirmed a man is in custody, following an arrest on suspicion of drink driving and taking a vehicle without consent.

Ms Renoldi said: “I got the call at 3.30am.

“When I got to the tavern, I saw a blue Saab had been embedded into the window closest to the entrance of the restaurant.

“I was in a complete state of shock because I could not believe what had happened.

“Surveyors came out to us this morning to assess the damage and now, I am waiting on a recovery team to come down, remove the car, and put hoarding up.

“The difficulty this incident leaves us in now is that we need to cancel all table bookings for tomorrow and the weekend until further notice.

“However, because the pub is on the other side of the venue, that remains open.

“I apologise to all the customers affected, and I hope to reopen the restaurant as soon as possible.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We were called shortly before 3.40am today (Thursday, October 5) to reports a vehicle had been in collision with a building in King Street, Stanford-le-Hope.

“A man has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving and taking a vehicle without consent.

“He was taken to hospital but is now in custody.

“If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.

“Please quote incident 116 of October 5.”

To submit a report, call 101 or visit essex.police.uk/digital101.

To make an anonymous report, contact Crimestoppers on 0800555111, or by visiting: crimestoppers-uk.org.