A pensioner had to be cut free after his car ploughed into a shop in Poynton.

The blue Toyota Aygo crashed into the front of the Country Living health store on Park Lane, at about 1.30pm on Saturday.

The 70-year-old male driver was rescued by fire crews and was taken to Macclesfield Hospital with minor injuries.

No one was inside the shop at the time.

It is understood the vehicle was involved in a collision with a white Toyota Aygo shortly before the smash.

An elderly couple in the other vehicle were treated for shock.

Shop owners Brent and Glenys Swaisland have now criticised the town’s new road scheme for failing to slow drivers down.

The couple have run the Country Living shop for about 30 years. It closed to the public about a year ago and now operates as base for their mail order business.

In Saturday’s crash, windows were smashed, the shop frontage was badly damaged and stock destroyed.

Mr Swaisland, 67, said: "We weren’t here but were told about it by the police and came down.

"It’s lucky the whole wall didn’t collapse or the gas pipes burst."

"It’s lucky it was us really. If the shop had been open and customers had been in and staff working at the till, they would have been dead.

"It’s lucky no one was walking past as well."

Poynton’s main Park Lane thoroughfare was converted to a ‘Netherlands-inspired’ road scheme earlier this year at a cost of £3m.

Traffic, pedestrians and cyclists use it free from signs and traffic lights in a bid to make it more pedestrian friendly.

Mr Swaisland said: "The scheme was meant to slow traffic down, but it doesn’t.

"There’s no kerb and there’s a big dilemma about who has right of way.

"Something needs to be done."

In March a 600-plus petition was handed to Poynton town council asking for a reduction in the speed limit along Park Lane from 30mph to 20mph

Glenys, also 67, said: "We have been waiting for this to happen. The cars come thundering past here, the shop shakes.

"Nearly every day there are minor bumps and incidents that don’t get reported. So we’ve been expecting something like this."

Insurers are yet to assess the damage to the shop though the Swaislands expect it to run into thousands of pounds.

The couple are still operating the online business at healthstore.uk.com.