A suspected drink driver was stopped by punters from speeding off after a van smashed into a pub's fence.

The vehicle, which had two other passengers, reversed through a car park fence at The Plough in Swalecliffe.

But when the driver reportedly attempted to escape, landlady Mel Evans, her husband Chris and two others took his van keys.

The smashed occurred at about 6.30pm on Bank Holiday Monday (August 26).

The pub had been due to close 30 minutes later so the landlady could spend time with her family.

Mrs Evans said: "I was in the cellar cleaning and one of my barmaids came running in. She said, 'someone has broken into the garden'.

"We came out of the pub and he was trying to drive off. My neighbours came out because he had hit the fence.

'It certainly made for an interesting Bank Holiday evening' - landlady Mel Evans

"We took the keys straight out of the van, stopped him and kept him here. We were not letting him go.

"The police arrived really quickly - within 10 minutes they were here."

The man was not one of Mrs Evans' customers and she said he arrived after watching a Whitstable vs Herne Bay match.

She added: "It certainly made for an interesting Bank Holiday evening."

A police spokesperson said: "Officers attended the scene and arrested a man on suspicion of driving while unfit through drink or drugs.

"No injuries were reported and enquiries are ongoing."

Read more: All the latest news from Whitstable