A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink and drug driving after a van crashed into a convenience store.

Police were called to Chris’s Food & Wine in Tonbridge Road in Maidstone just before 1am last Wednesday (April 10).

Officers attended the scene and the man, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

He was later arrested before being released from custody pending further enquiries.

The store was forced to shut for 24 hours while the damage was assessed, before reopening to the public on Thursday morning.

A temporary front door has since been installed before a permanent replacement is delivered over the coming fortnight.

Shop owner Ravi Shankar said last week: “I actually had a ram-raid at another store in Barming 10 or 15 years ago, when thieves tried to use a jeep to steal a cash machine, so compared with that, this is pretty minor.

“But it’s certainly frustrating, we’re losing sales today and a lot of people come to us in the morning to use the Post Office and collect their pensions, so they now have to walk further to the next one, which isn’t ideal.

“This is a busy road and I suppose it’s lucky it happened at night when it was quiet - it could have been a lot worse.”

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone