AN elderly driver was taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath  for a check-up after his vehicle crashed into the Dandy Lion pub in the centre of Bradford on Avon.

The accident happened at 11.05am and fire crews from Bradford on Avon, Bath and Trowbridge were called to the scene.

A Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said the crews gave first aid assistance to the driver while they waited for paramedics to arrive.

It appeared the man was able to walk away from the crash after his vehicle veered off the road and mounted the pavement.

Bar staff at the Swan Hotel opposite the scene said they heard a loud noise like someone falling off a ladder.

One said: "We heard a crash we didn't see it, then we went out and the man seemed shocked by what had happened but was able to get out of the car himself. The fire crews have been out there for about an hour now."

Workers at the ex Libris book shop on the corner of The Shambles heard sandwich boards fall over but did not see the crash happen.

The accident immediately caused traffic delays with motorists coming into Bradford on Avon backing up Market Street into Masons Lane and the BA363 Bath Road by the Castle Inn.

Other motorists coming over the Town Bridge were diverted up Silver Street and the B3107.

The Market Street area was blocked off while emergency services dealt with the accident.

It appears the driver had gone down Market Street before his vehicle veered off the road and hit the front of the pub.

He was able to walk away from the crash that caused police to shut the road off for over an hour in the town just before lunchtime.

The man was treated by paramedics and then driven away in an ambulance car at 11.15am this morning.

Paintwork on the pub walls was damaged, however the wall itself was not badly damaged.

The driver’s blue Toyota car was pulled from the pub by fire crews after attempts to push it away did not work.