Regulars returned to toast the reopening of a Black Country pub which collapsed after a car smashed through the front wall.
See also: Pub demolished by car crash
Licensees Shane and Maureen Hodgkiss welcomed back customers to The Railway Inn after two months last night.
At first some feared time would be called on the popular pub after the smash on April 4 demolished much of the building.
But builders have been working round the clock to rebuild almost half of it, and last night the beer was flowing once again.
Maureen said it had been a hard slog getting her business back on track and that she was delighted the pub, in Pedmore Road, Lye, was now open.
“It’s been a while and people have been asking us constantly when the pub will be open again,” she said.”It’s been a great turnout and all we could have wished for on the re-opening night.”
Regular drinker Alex Bytheway, aged 47, from Stourbridge, said: “I always used to drink here but to be honest we all thought it would never open again when we saw the damage from the outside. It was horrific.
“It’s great they have managed to get it open again so quickly and it looks great.”
The pub was closed after a Seat Leon left the road ploughing into the front of the building and sending a section of the upper floor crashing onto the pavement and roadside.
Drinkers in the area first feared owners Punch Taverns would demolish the pub entirely due to the serious damage.
But the firm said they were committed to reconstructing the damaged sections of the pub.
No drinkers were injured but three women and two men were in the car when the collision took place. Three were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Lloyd Ashley Bernard, aged 25, of Old Cottage Drive,Wednesbury, is facing charges of driving while disqualified, having no insurance and driving without due care and attention following the crash.
He will appear next before Coventry magistrates on July 8.
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