A family-run greengrocers in Horwich suffered extensive damage after a car lost control and crashed into the shop front.

The Salad Bowl's window was left shattered and the woodwork badly damaged after a car swerved into the building on Sunday evening at around 8pm.

A loud bang was reported by local residents near to Winter Hey Lane, however, the car had driven off by the time the owners had arrived to assess the damage.

The greengrocers' plans to reopen this week have now been put on hold as the extent of the damage means they cannot open.

Mark Seekings, who runs the shop with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, said:"We're in shock. It's very disappointing. We were all geared up to open but now we can't.

"We were inundated with messages about it last night, it was a nightmare.

"There's been extensive damage. The front is built of old-worldly style wood and painted a traditional greengrocers green, inside there are the original tiles from a hundred years ago and we have all the wooden boxes.

"It's going to be a nightmare to sort it out. As a food suppliers we could've stayed open throughout the crisis but we decided to focus on our deliveries and serve those most in need instead.

"We'd been doing our bit for the community and we were planning to reopen the shop this week, so it's bad timing. In fact we had planned a refurbishment of the shop with a perspex screen to ensure that it was safe.

"There's no chance we will be able to open anytime soon. As soon as we heard what happened we went to the shop to see the extent of the damage.

"It was actually quite dangerous as all the glass had been shattered all over the ground. We spent the night boarding it up, then we had to be up at five in the morning to sort out all our deliveries."

According to witnesses a vehicle lost control near the traffic lights on Winter Hey Lane and collided with the shop. Mr Seekings has filed an online crime report with the police.

Fortunately they can carry on their deliveries as they have a separate warehouse.

Mr Seekings said: "I imagine it'll cost several thousands of pounds, we will need a completely new shop front. The wood will need redoing and the fittings will need to be authentic and traditional.

"The response from our customers has been unbelievable, we've had hundreds of likes and comments online. I think they're they're the reason why I'm not as shocked as I should be; the whole community has been absolutely amazing.

"We've had offers of people wanting to help. We're going to try and keep going with as many deliveries as possible."