A GREENGROCER is today counting the cost of damage caused after a car driven by an elderly woman ploughed through his shop window.The 84-year-old woman driving the red Volvo 440 appeared to be in such shock after the incident in the Rushmere area of Ipswich yesterdaythat she offered a quick apology before heading off to attend an appointment at a hairdressers a few doors along.

A GREENGROCER is today counting the cost of damage caused after a car driven by an elderly woman ploughed through his shop window.

The 84-year-old woman driving the red Volvo 440 appeared to be in such shock after the incident in the Rushmere area of Ipswich yesterdaythat she offered a quick apology before heading off to attend an appointment at a hairdressers a few doors along.

Malcolm Thompson, who has been the proprietor of the fruit and vegetables shop in Selkirk Road since November, was serving a customer when the car came through the front window at about 9.20am.

It appears that the motorist was pulling into a parking bay in front of the shop when she hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

The whole pane was dislodged but remained intact, unlike several items of fruit and vegetables on display, which were squashed.

Mr Thompson said: “I was flabbergasted. A few moments before it happened I was out the front with a customer picking some new potatoes for her. We went inside and she was paying for them when this car suddenly came into the shop. I was in shock.

“The driver was in shock a bit and said she was off to have her hair done. She came back about half an hour later after she had her curls all set and done and said she was sorry and gave me her details.”

Mr Thompson is now assessing how much the incident will cost, as replacements will be needed for the window and door, and his own car, which was parked in the next bay, was also damaged.

When police arrived they found that the front of the car was embedded into the front of the shop.

Ipswich Borough Council dispatched an officer to assess the extent of the damage to the building. An ambulance was called and the woman was treated at the scene for minor injuries. She was not taken to hospital.

The driver did not want to comment on the incident and said she was “too ashamed.”

A staff member from Janine Hair Fashions said: “She is a regular customer. When she came in, we didn't know how serious it was. I think she was in a state of shock. She still made her appointment-in fact I think she was early.”

A recovery crew arrived just after 10.10am and began the process of removing the car from the shop.

Have you ever done something similar? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk