Van crashes into ice cream shop off Lymington high street

Rob and Diane Large were awoken shortly after midnight on Monday, August 28, by a call from a neighbour who told them a van had crashed through their business Toot Sweets in Lymington.

Rob, 57, told the Echo: “Our neighbour said ‘Rob, you better get down here’ as he told me what happened. We arrived less than ten minutes later and saw the damage.”

Upon arrival, the pair were greeted by the sight of a grey Ford Transit van lodged into their parlour having dislodged metal pavement railings on the way.

Damage to Toot Sweets Ice Cream Parlour in Lymington after van crash (Image: Toot Sweets)

Police were called and a man was arrested. No injuries were reported.

“This business is our livelihood and up to now has been really successful,” Rob said.

“Today (Tuesday) is our third anniversary after we set up in the middle of the pandemic.

“It’s just really sad, my wife in particular is absolutely devastated. We work hard so for something like this to happen, it’s very tough to take.”

Rob said it has been his dream since childhood to open an ice cream parlour, harbouring special memories as a child of his local shop in Tunbridge Wells.

“That old parlour is one of the biggest memories from my childhood so I wanted to open my own so we could become a good memory for the children of today,” he said.

Damage to Toot Sweets Ice Cream Parlour in Lymington after van crash (Image: Toot Sweets)

The building itself, in Gosport Road just off Lymington High Street, is a Grade II listed building and reparation work will require planning permission.

Rob said he has held early discussions with the council and hopes it can “help by pushing through” the repair planning permission quickly.

He added: “If we’re not fully open by early next year we’ll go bust. We will still keep trading but obviously it’s much harder to do with a boarded-up front.”

Following the incident, David Coppinger, 52 and of Almansa Way in Lymington, has been charged with drink driving and has been bailed to attend Southampton Magistrates Court on September 21.