Emergency crews called in as car smashes into side of Doncaster restaurant

Emergency crews were called to The Indus near to the Racecourse Roundabout on Saturday after the black car smashed into the side of the building.

Sharing details of the incident on social media, bosses at the restaurant – known to many as the Grand St Leger Hotel – said the crash had destroyed toilets and caused structural damage to the outside of the Grade II listed building.

A spokesman said: “There was a serious car accident on Saturday 25 June.

"Our deep gratitude to South Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council for not only saving the lives of the occupants of the car but making safe the terrible structural damage caused to our Grade II listed building.

"Luckily we were closed at the time of the incident as on a normal raceday there would have been numerous people sat on the lawn abd in the now destroyed ladies toilets.

"Please drive safely - this is the third accident in six months and our maintenance man is getting tired of rebuilding the fence.”

The restaraunt, which has a commanding position over the Racecourse Roundabout at the junction of Bennetthorpe, Leger Way and Carr House Road has long been a favourite or racegoers attending events at nearby Doncaster Racecourse.

The Indus has been one of Doncaster’s most popular restaurants for decades and counts cricket ace Sir Ian Botham among its fans.

The original Indus was a mainstay of Doncaster town centre for many years, attracting a string of star names including the sporting great as well as comics like Sir Billy Connolly and Freddie Starr through its doors in Silver Street.

The family which established the original eaterie brought the name back to Doncaster in 2020, opening a new Indus restaurant at The Grand St Leger Hotel on Bennetthorpe.

The original Indus was opened in Doncaster in 1968 by Karim Din, becoming the first licenced Indian restaurant in Yorkshire and ten years after its opening, it was expanded to cater for nearly 200 diners.

We have asked South Yorkshire Police for more details of the incident.