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Stagecoach bus collides with Jolsons Party Bar in Folkestone
09:25, 06 August 2020
updated: 10:54, 06 August 2020
A nightclub's sign was left hanging from a bus after vehicle crashed into the side of the building.
The sign for Jolsons Party Bar in Folkestone became wedged in the smashed window of the Stagecoach bus following the collision yesterday afternoon.
WATCH: CCTV shows the moment the bus hits the bar
It is understood the bus mounted the pavement in Tontine Street and then struck the bar and its sign, which was ripped from the wall and became lodged in the upstairs front window.
CCTV footage shows masonry falling to the street after the collision.
Luckily no one was hurt in the crash and Stagecoach say they are investigating the circumstances.
But the Party Bar's owner Keith Craig had to climb up a ladder to release the bus from the sign, before it could drive to a safe position, with half the sign still stuck in the window.
Mr Craig said: "We had to chop the sign off to get the bus released. There were people in the flats above and the restaurant next door, but luckily no one was hurt.
"There were passengers on the bus but no one was sitting in that front window or it could have been very serious.
"They made quite a mess of it. The sign is a right off and the building is damaged. We're waiting on our insurers."
He said over the last few years - since Tontine Street was made two-way - his bar has been hit four or five times.
In 2017, KentOnline reported on one of the indicents when a double decker smashed into the building.
"The signage has been struck by buses four or five times over the last couple of years and I’ve lost count of the near misses we’ve had," Mr Craig said.
"The road should never have been made two way and the parking should never have been switched to the other side. It’s created a pinch point.
"Combine that with irresponsible parking and incidents like this are bound to keep happening.
"My understanding is that the whole two way system was introduced to allow buses access to the seafront area and new development.
"When this idea was going through the planning/consultation, myself and about 30 other business owners and residents attended a public meeting at the council offices to object but we weren’t allowed to speak. There were over 100 written objections as well."
Mr Craig says this latest incident feels like a "kick in the teeth" when the bar is already struggling due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"We haven't opened yet due to restictions. We're the only nightclub in Folkestone but are bottom on the list of places to open.
"So with trying to keep the business afloat and pay staff this certainly has not helped the mood."
A spokesman for police said: "Kent Police was called to Tontine Street, Folkestone at 4.18pm following a report that a bus has been in collision with a building.
"No injuries were reported and the bus was moved to a safe location at around 6pm."
A spokeswoman for Stagecoach South East said: "We can confirm that one of our vehicles was involved in a incident in Folkestone on Wednesday afternoon, where the top of a double decker bus collided into the side of a building.
"No passengers or employees were injured and the police attended the scene as a precautionary measure.
"Safety is our absolute priority and we are carrying out an investigation into the circumstances."
