A pub landlady has voiced her frustration after a ninth car crashed into her beer garden, calling for urgent action to address a dangerous accident black spot. Barbara Smith, who runs The Woolpack in the village of Sopley, Dorset, stated that drivers are consistently caught out by a T-junction followed by a sharp bend around the pub.
Latest Incident
Police were called shortly before 4am on Monday after a silver Renault Megane drove across the junction and ploughed through the brick wall of a historic bridge adjacent to the pub. The vehicle then flew across a 20ft brook and collided with a concrete post in the pub garden. There were no injuries, but both the car and the pub suffered extensive damage.
Officers later arrested two 21-year-old men at a house in Bournemouth. Both were arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drugs, driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the limit, and dangerous driving. One man was also arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drink but was later released with no further action, while the other remains released under investigation, Hampshire Police confirmed.
Landlady's Concerns
Ms Smith, whose pub has been closed for repairs following flooding in January, emphasised that something must be done before someone gets hurt. She likened the latest crash to the flying orange Dodge Charger from the 1980s American action comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard. 'Literally it is like Dukes of Hazzard as the car has cleared the bank and gone through a concrete post in the garden,' she said. 'It must have been going at some speed.'
Most crashes outside the pub have occurred at night, with a lack of street lighting causing drivers to miss the bend. In 2014, the bridge—renamed Coronation Bridge after King Charles's coronation in 2023—was partially rebuilt after a car crashed through it, followed by four more crashes the following year. A van crashed there in 2018, and another car did the same in 2023. After a crash in March, a Renault was left wedged nose-down in the water at a 45-degree angle.
Call for Action
Barbara continued: 'The junction by the pub and over the bridge is a T-junction but should not be approached too fast as it's quite a tight turn. Most local people know this and slow down and pay attention, but those not familiar with the area approach too fast and don't have time to react when they see the left turn and then go straight into the wall of the bridge.' She urged authorities to install more warning signs to slow traffic before the T-junction and add lighting on the bridge to improve visibility at night.
