The owners of an antique shop in Hither Green, Lewisham, have been left with an estimated £25,000 in damages after a car crashed into the front of the store on September 29.

The incident occurred around 1:30am on Sunday when two cars collided on a residential street which sent one vehicle crashing through Ward Antique Fireplaces’ front window. 

Alfie Ward, the nephew of shop founder Ted Ward, was asleep in the flat above the shop when he was woken by the sound of the incident.

“I heard a large crash, went downstairs and saw a BMW sticking out my shop window,” Alfie told Eastlondonlines. 

While no one was injured, the impact caused extensive damage to the store, smashing the front window and damaging valuable antique fireplaces. 

“There’s big 20mph signs everywhere but it’s obviously from the amount of damage that was caused, they couldn’t have been going 20mph.”

The police arrived on the scene shortly after the crash but they were not assigned a case officer until October 1. 

Since the area has heavy traffic and has witnessed multiple car accidents, the family has contacted Transport for London (TfL) several times about the removal of protective railings in the area.

After the crash they reached out to TfL again, as well as Lewisham Council for support, without any luck. 

“It’s not about the money. I’ve never been one to try and earn money from an insurance claim – I just want the shop back to how it was,” Ted said.

Ted co-founded the shop with his brother in 1977 and has never experienced an incident like this.  

Ted told Eastlondonlines that he spoke to one of the drivers and his insurance company following the incident. They argued that since there is no signage prohibiting U-turns in the area, he should not be held liable for the damages. 

Repairs to the shop are expected to take several weeks.