A couple left seriously injured in a road crash that left another driver dead will not be able to reopen their popular tea rooms, they revealed today.

Devastated John and Michelle McSherry, who own the Poplar Cottage tea rooms in Claverley, near Wolverhampton, suffered multiple injuries and were temporarily wheelchair bound following the head-on smash last July.

The other driver, 37-year-old Anthony Gordon, was killed when his Vauxhall Astra collided with the McSherry’s silver Mitsubishi on the A454 at Hilton, near Bridgnorth.

An inquest ruled last week that Mr Gordon was three-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit.

Father-of-two Mr McSherry, who entertained customers with his Frank Spencer impersonations, spoke today of the couple’s heartbreaking decision to call it a day on their business.

“We won’t be opening again,” he said. “We were so badly injured after the crash and we still can’t get very far on our feet.

“People are still ringing us up to book parties at the tea rooms but we have to turn them away. It has torn us apart.”

The 58-year-old had to have his spleen removed and a heart operation after the crash. He also broke bones in his legs.

His 46-year-old wife broke her left leg and suffered lung damage.

The pair, who live with their two sons, Daniel, 16 and Dominic, 12, initially pledged to re-open the tea-rooms in 2011.

But they are now having to claim disability benefits as they can no longer work.

Former Pontins entertainer Mr McSherry continued: “We have suffered so much.

“I can’t play football with the boys any more and that is really hard for me.”

The inquest last week ruled Mr Gordon, an HGV driver of King Charles Way, Bridgnorth, had a blood alcohol level of 276 mg to one decilitre of blood. The limit is 80.

He had been drinking in Bridgnorth before meeting a friend at The Wheel pub in Worfield.

They had several pints of beer before leaving at 9pm.

Mr Gordon tried to overtake a truck but hit the McSherrys, who were travelling in the opposite direction.