The owners of a Thai restaurant in Surbiton reminded residents they were "not a drive thru" last week after a car crashed through their shop front.
The shocking incident happened early on Monday morning (December 23).
Restaurateur Nay, who owns and runs Nay Thai in Surbiton, said she got a call from a friend just after 9.45 that morning telling her what had happened.
New look to the restaurant today. We will be open for business as usual despite the DriveThru incident this morning. pic.twitter.com/zFszf0pNPq
— Nay Thai (@nay_thai) December 23, 2019
After rushing to the scene, she could scarcely believe the destruction she found there and was grateful no one had been hurt.
"I was just at home when it happened," Nay told the Comet.
"We had a half day on Monday and opened in the afternoon—it was really lucky no one was there.
"I just got a phone call telling me it had happened already.
"Looking at the footage, someone had walked past our place just three minutes before. It was really dangerous, someone could have got hurt," she added.
Nay said she spoke with the police who arrived at the scene later that day.
They told her the driver of the vehicle had mistakenly put the car in reverse.
"The police explained to me that the driver wanted to go forwards and went backwards," she said.
— Nay Thai (@nay_thai) December 23, 2019
Nay added that the police had suggested the driver's insurance company would now be expected to compensate her and her partner who jointly own the restaurant for the damage.
"Over Christmas there's not much we can do so we're going to close for a short while and then sort it out with them," she said.
The Met Police were contacted for comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here