Bricks were sent flying across the shop at 1A High Street, owned by the town council, which remains open although its front was boarded up.
Town councillor Paul Tacchi, who lives in a flat above the Wetherspoon’s pub opposite, went to the scene after hearing an “enormous screech and bang”.
“I was watching a film at about 3am and at first I thought it was part of that,” he said. “Then I heard car alarms going off. The wall was completely taken out and a window was still hanging from the door.”
Councillor Bodenham, who lives nearby in Northgate Mews, said that his Subaru Legacy could be a write-off.
Northgate
Mark Edwards (pictured above) who has run the shop with his wife Annette for two years, said: “All our Christmas stock of engravable gifts in the window have gone and both our engraving machines and a computer have been damaged.
“It took the whole of the front of the shop out,” added Mr Edwards.
He said he wanted to assure customers the shop remained open and that engraving continued to be carried out at his other premises at Cannock.
“There has been a lot of damage but not in terms of structural stability,” said town clerk Rachel Humphries. “The Northgate has not been affected.” A surveyor was brought in by the council to ensure that the shop’s structure is safe.
West Mercia Police spokesman Richard Ewels said that a woman had been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. He urged any witnesses to the incident to contact the police on 0300 333 3000.
