Black Country Ales has announced the acquisition of the Three Fishes pub in Bayston Hill just five days ago.

But at around 5.30am on Monday a driver had to be cut free from his lorry after it crashed through a house on the A49 and just outside the pub.

Now the Dudley-based pub chain, which already operates several other outlets in Shropshire, including The Anvil in Shifnal and The Harp in Albrighton, has spoken out about the incident.

A company spokesman said it was “saddened” by the accident and offered its best wishes to the truck driver.

They said: “Following the recent excitement of announcing our acquisition of the Three Fishes pub in Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, we are saddened to report an unfortunate incident where a lorry has collided with the building.

“The structural damage is significant and this will delay our planned renovation and opening. We sincerely hope the driver makes a full and speedy recovery.”

Bayston Hill resident James Deurden, who has run the pub for the past two months, told the Shropshire Star he was due to hand over the keys next week.

A fundraising for the family, whose Hong Kong City home and business was damaged in the collision, received nearly £4,000 in donations – reducing the initial target of £750.

Wednesday, temporary traffic lights were still in place on the A49 through Bayston Hill while work is done to secure the buildings.

Following the accident, the inhabitants of the village were asking for more to be done to improve safety on the busy A road – pointing to a barrier on the other side of the road the parcel had just been repaired after being hit by another vehicle.