Woman jumps to safety as van smashes into Shrewsbury shop - with video

A passing fire officer jumped into the unmanned van, pulling on the handbrake after it crashed into the shop front.

Eileen Carr, a volunteer at Save the Children, was walking to work down Wyle Cop when she noticed the APC Overnight van, which had been parked outside The Lion Hotel moving backwards.

WATCH: Van rolls into Shrewsbury shop

She said she had to jump out of the way as it mounted the kerb and swung around as it reserved into fashion shop Bottega at around 9.50am.

No one was injured as the shop was empty and is currently being renovated.

A structural engineer was called to the scene and the road was closed before being re-opened just after 11.30am.

Fire station manager Scott Bishop said, there was no one in the van and a passing fire officer noticed and jumped in and pulled on the hand brake.

Two Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service crews from Shrewsbury attended the scene, along with an ambulance and West Mercia Police.

No casualties were reported and no action was taken by the fire service, who requested for a structural engineer to attend.

Nearby shop workers witnessed the incident, and paid tribute to the emergency services for acting so quickly.

Lulu Allman, owner of La Vie said in the eight years she’s had a shop here she has witnessed cars rolling back three times and called the police once when it happened about six years ago.

She said the emergency services were “amazing” and turned up within two minutes today.

Police tweeted "Shrewsbury Town Centre Team dealing with RTC on Wyle Cop where a delivery van has crashed through a shop window. Road will be closed for a while to allow recovery and building structural assessment. Please find alternative route."

An APC Overnight spokesman said: "We can confirm that a van from one of our depots was involved in an incident in Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, this morning.

"We are working with the relevant authorities and are in touch with customers affected."