A CAR ploughed into the front of a Little Lever shop after crashing into another vehicle.

The general store on the corner of Church Street and Market Street was badly damaged when a blue Volkswagen Polo smashed into it.

Police, fire and ambulance services were called to the shop at about 3.10pm yesterday.

Council officers were called to check the building was structurally safe, after builders propped it up with scaffolding.

Police cordoned off the scene and evacuated the store and the newsagents next door.

Firefighters said the electricity supply would have to be isolated before the car could be removed as it had damaged a corner unit.

It is understood that the Polo clipped a silver Toyota Corolla as it drove around the bend into Church Street which caused the driver to lose control. The driver suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment after being treated at the scene.

Kennedy Corvelli, aged 18, was working in the shop when the car hit — but managed to escape unharmed.

He said: “There were no customers in the shop.

“I saw it coming and thought ‘that doesn’t look like it’s stopping’.

“It made a massive bang.”

Mr Corvelli managed to avoid most of the falling wreckage, with just a small piece hitting his leg.

He managed to squeeze out of the front of the shop.

Store manager Hayley Lowe said they would be assessing the damage once the car was removed.

She added: “Once they have secured the shop and got it safe, we’ll start the rebuild.”

Eric Hyde, a Liberal Democrat activist for Darcy Lever and Little Lever, said the corner where the accident happened was “dangerous”.

He added: “The road contains a dangerous corner and a hazardous junction and the zebra crossing is also badly marked out.”

First Manchester alerted bus users that services were subject to delays of up to 20 minutes after the crash.

Council officers were still at the scene working to shore up the building.