A Wallingford restaurant owner is calling for a bus operator to make amends after two buses from its fleet crashed into his property on separate occasions in the space of a week.

Paul Hodder, co-owner of the Shellfish Cow, based in Wallingford High Street, was horrified when a Thames Travel bus mounted the pavement outside the restaurant and crashed into the upstairs bay window on Thursday, October 26. 

To his disbelief, not even a week later, last Wednesday afternoon (November 1), another Thames Travel bus attempted to perform the same manoeuvre and crashed into the restaurant’s bay window once again – to the shock and distress of patrons who were upstairs in the restaurant at the time.

Both incidents were compounded further when Mr Hodder contacted Thames Travel and asked for reparation after drivers failed to stop and notify him or anyone else in the restaurant after each crash. 

He said the company instead immediately attempted to deny responsibility. This prompted him to respond with conclusive CCTV footage.

Mr Hodder added: “When the first incident occurred, I contacted Thames Travel and asked them to send surveyors out to assess the damage immediately.

"We’ve had to take away all the internal furnishings which could fall down. Upon closer inspection, it looks like there is no structural damage.

“I’m extremely concerned that if these crashes continue occurring at such a rate, it could equate to 100 a year.

"Thames Travel need to either change their route or ensure drivers receive better training which advises against driving on the pavement.

"They also need to pay for repair work. I’m still waiting to hear back from them on this although they have now apologised.”

READ MORE: Wantage nursery labelled 'inadequate' in new Ofsted report

Mr Hodder added he was lucky that both crashes had not impacted on his business, despite a similar incident also having happened five years ago, now bringing the total to three incidents. 

A spokesperson for Thames Travel said: “The area outside the property is one where we have been experiencing regular issues with poorly parked vehicles blocking the carriageway, causing large vehicles such as our buses to have to mount the kerb to pass, and to avoid causing an obstruction for other road users. This is the issue which has led to the two unfortunate incidents taking place.

“We engaged with the owners of the restaurant straight away and appointed surveyors to assess the damage and manage repairs. We will ensure fair and full reparations of the damage caused are completed.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by these incredibly rare events and our team are investigating the exact cause of the incidents.”