Empty van crashes into Devon post office

A council-owned van crashed into a post office in Modbury, Devon, on Tuesday.

South Hams District Council said the van was unoccupied at the time and rolled backwards into the Modbury News and General Store.

Devon and Cornwall Police said officers were called at 07:45 BST, the windows and structure of the Broad Street premises had been damaged, no-one was injured and the road was clear by 08:45.

The council said the store was still open for business.

Steve Mullineaux, director of customer service, said: "I have been to Modbury this morning, to speak directly to those concerned in the incident.

"It was an unfortunate and regrettable incident and we're really thankful that nobody was hurt.

"We are supporting the owner of the business to make the property safe and we are in contact with our insurers. We are also supporting our own driver who is devastated about the incident.

"Early investigations lead us to believe that the incident was a mechanical failure on the vehicle and we are assured it wasn't driver error.

"I would like to assure everyone that we take public safety very seriously and we will be carrying out a thorough internal investigation into the vehicle failure."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].