Pub crash 'could have been avoided,' landlady says
BBCThe landlady of a pub that was badly damaged when a car crashed into it has said she had repeatedly asked the council to install railings or bollards outside the premises.
Five people were injured, with two taken to hospital, when the car hit the Merchants Arms on Merchants Road in the Hotwells area of Bristol at 21:28 BST on Sunday.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drugs.
Landlady Emily Rogers said a similar incident occurred in 2017 and there had also been a number of near misses. Bristol City Council said there had only been two incidents resulting in injury on the stretch of road in the past 10 years.
Rogers said: "It feels really bad, the fact that this could have been avoided if the council had listened to us prior because it's not the first time.
"How many times will it take before they act on this?"
She added: "We want a fence, or if not, barriers. Even if they could just raise the kerb a little bit to stop the cars from lifting - anything is better than nothing at this point.
"We just need some sort of support to stop this happening again, or maybe even a speed camera on this road to stop them coming down so fast."
Rogers said the pub had lost its porch, most of its outside seating, a large section of tiling had been smashed and the floor damaged.
Merchants Arms regular Ciaran Byrne said he often spent time in the smoking area where the car struck the pub.
"Would I have had the wherewithal to get out of the way? I don't know," he said.
Byrne said he had sent a message of support to the pub's staff.
"I sent them a message, 'stay strong, you can do this, get back on your feet'. It's going to take a few days to fix but I'm sure they will do it speedily," he added.
"All the staff are great, it's a good community pub. It serves all different ages."
While she has been working at the Merchants Arms for many years, Rogers only took over as landlady in January.
Matthew Wilkins, son of the former landlord and a former employee, said it was "gutting" to see the pub damaged again.
"This happened to us back in 2017 and it's something that's clearly avoidable," Wilkins said.
"We had a near miss in I think 2021, and now this has happened, unfortunately, to Emily."
Wilkins said the council needed "to pull its finger out," adding: "This is going to kill somebody. Something has to change."
Bristol City Council declined to comment directly on the requests for safety measures, but highlighted data showing there had only been two collisions resulting in injury in the past 10 years in that location.
It said the details emerging from Sunday's crash would be considered as part of its monitoring of road safety, adding: "We will take on board the suggestions made by those impacted."
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