The scene on Saturday night [Caroline Russell]

THIS was the scene at Highbury Barn on Saturday night after a car being driven “recklessly fast” crashed into a row of shops just minutes after they had closed.

Witnesses said the driver pushed away people who rushed to help him but then returned up to three times to retrieve items. Police have opened an investigation but have made no arrests so far.

Patricia Michelson, the owner of La Fromagerie cheese shop, said she faces having to spend thousands of pounds in damages and loss in earnings after the shop was shut for half a day on Sunday to carry out repairs.

She has called on witnesses to the crash to get in touch with police in a bid to identify the driver.

Ms Michelson said: “When the accident happened and the car stopped, there were four or five people around the car as he got out to see if he was all right and see why did he drive down the pavement like that, but he pushed them away and then started this bizarre scenario of leaving the scene and coming back again”

She added: “He got out of the car and ran off and then a few seconds later he came back to the car and took something out.

“A few people on the street tried to tackle him in some way and he then lashed out and left the scene, and then came back again and got something, and then came back a third time, and each time there were people trying to apprehend him and he lashed out.

“There were people milling around outside and it was only about 10 minutes after we had closed the door and left the building. If it had happened 10 minutes earlier our staff could have been seriously hurt.”

Patricia Michelson at La Fromagerie

La Fromagerie, an institution in Highbury Park, celebrated its 30th birthday last year. While there are now a series of other branches across London, the Highbury shop was the original and was opened in 1992 by Ms Michelson and her late husband Danny Michelson, who died from Covid in 2020.

Ms Michelson said the business had to pay £1,400 for specialist locksmiths to come and fix the frame of the door after the crash, and warned they will also need the building to be assessed for further damage to ensure it is safe.

The shop was unable to open until after lunch on Sunday.

The aftermath of the crash [Caroline Russell]

She has now appealed to those who attempted to apprehend the driver to come forward, after the business suffered thousands of pounds in damage and loss of earnings.

“Probably we will need a new shopfront, so it’s much worse than it first seems,” she added. “Obviously I’m not pleased at all.” CCTV footage from the row of the shops is understood to have been passed to police.

“If anyone was present at the time or was there when it happened, if they’ve got any information they could pass on I would really would appreciate it with identifying the person who was driving,” she said.

Green councillor Caroline Russell, who was one of the first on the scene, said: “It appears the car was being driven recklessly fast, which may account for why the driver lost control so dangerously. Everyone I’ve spoken to has raised how lucky it was that no one was walking past at the time, as they would likely have been seriously injured or worse.”

A police spokesperson said: “Police were called at approximately 19.45 hours on Saturday, 18 February to reports of a road traffic collision involving one car in Highbury Park, N5. The driver of the car fled the scene prior to police arrival. No reports of any injuries. Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.” Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD6389/18Feb.