Car smashes through Doncaster pub frontage as shocking collision sends glass flying

A car hurtled through the front of The Doncaster Brewery and Tap, on Young Street, in the town centre, in the early hours of Sunday morning, smashing the glass and demolishing brickwork.

It was just hours after the couple who run the venue had finished work on Saturday night.

The car crashed through the frontage in the early hours of the Sunday morning, and the first Ian Blaylock, who runs the venue with wife Alison, knew of the incident was when they received a call from the police, who are investigating the crash.

The venue has been open for outdoor drinking since the first relaxation of lockdown last month, and plans to re-open inside on May 17, and Mr Blaylock said those plans would not change.

He said: “What has happened is quite upsetting. But it’s lucky that we were not trading under normal circumstances this weekend, or Alison and myself would have still been there clearing up after closing time.

"As it is, it’s just bricks and mortar – it could have been a lot more serious.

"I think it has probably been a case of inattention from the driver.

"We are still going to re-open on May 17, whether we have a shop front or not. We can’t afford not to after having had to be closed for 14 months.

"If the glass is not in place, we will have a word with a painter about painting something on the frontage.”

"We’ve been able to open for outside service, because we’ve got some outside space since they demolished the old Wilco building near us. Although this happened in the early hours of Sunday, we were already at home because we’ve been closing at 9pm, because it starts getting cold after that.”

He said police have closed circuit television footage of the incident.

The Doncaster Tap opened up several years ago as an outlet for sales of beer brewed by Mr Blaylock’s own Doncaster Brewery, but also serves other drinks too.

It has run delivery services during the lockdown.

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