Owners of Dudley chip shop hit by car 'very upset' but promise 'we'll be back soon'

Sofi's Plaice on Castle Street has remained closed since Friday evening after a car crashed into it, causing damage to parts of the exterior, interior and piping, and pushing the fryer.

It's the second time a vehicle has collided with the shop, after a bus lost control and caused substantial damage in October 2021, and has left the popular eatery unable to open due to the damage caused.

Stallo Minas, who works in the shop for her mother Sofi Hickinbottom, said her own husband Kikis had been in the shop at the time, along with around 10 others.

She said: "There's some structural damage outside on the wall and the gas had to be turned off just in case, plus the door frame and door were also damaged.

"The fryer, luckily, is okay and while it moved a bit, we've been told that everything should be okay to go back as it was.

"We don't know how long it'll be closed for, but we've got the insurance people coming in on Monday or Tuesday to look at it."

Ms Minas said her husband and the people in the shop had been unharmed by the crash, but also said that it had upset a lot of people in the family.

She said: "We're all very upset about it and we're about to suggest that a bollard is put up outside our shop to make us a bit more safe, which we will be talking to the council about.

"I do want to thank the police, however, who were really helpful and lovely and couldn't believe it was the second time this had happened to us.

"I know accidents do happen, but for us, it's going back again to being a headache for us and we've only just come back from the last crash.

"What I do want to do is thank our customers as they have been really supportive and said they can't wait for us to reopen again, so we will be back and look forward to seeing their custom back again soon."