A DRIVER lost control of his car and crashed into the front of a fish and chip shop on a busy main road into Bradford today.

The 18-year-old driver was in a blue Toyota Avensis travelling down Great Horton Road when the car mounted the kerb, hit a metal advertising sign and then the front of Gullivers fish and chip shop.

The shop was closed at the time and no-one was believed to have been injured.

Fish shop owner John Broadbent was at home next to the business when he heard a loud bang.

CCTV footage from the scene shows the car travelling backwards when it collides with the building at a relatively low speed.

Mr Broadbent said: "The car wasn't going much of a speed when it hit but there was a hell of a bang. He was travelling backwards for 30 or 40 feet.

"He must have missed the lamppost by inches but hit the shop sign, a steel frame. He's come down the road, lost control and ended up here."

He was relieved that no-one had been hurt, although worried about the extent of the damage to the building, which he does not own.

Had the crash been at a busy time for the shop, the outcome might have been different, he said.

The impact caused damage to the stonework and structural experts from Bradford Council were last night assessing the extent of the damage.

The car sustained damage to the boot area and the driver's side. One of the front tyres was flat and airbags had been deployed on impact.

Despite the shock of what had happened, Mr Broadbent said it was business as unusual.

"The show must go on," he said. "We don't make any money if we are closed."

The crash, which happened just before 3pm, comes after an awful run of bad luck for Mr Broadbent.

Yesterday he discovered that his Audi car's driver's window had been smashed, although it did not appear that anything had been stolen.

He has also had to deal with three break-ins at the premises in Horton Bank Top in the last few months.

"I have been broken into three times in the last eight weeks. Each time they have stolen charity collection boxes."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said the incident had been classed as a damage-only road traffic accident.

He said the driver had not been hurt, although there had been structural damage to the building.

Several police cars attended the scene. The Avensis was taken away on a low-loader just over an hour after the incident.

The fish and chip shop is open as usual tonight, serving customers from just before 5pm.