THE co-owner of an Isle of Wight chemist shop badly damaged by a lorry which crashed into it, has thanked God no one was hurt or killed.

It has been a turbulent 24 hours for Archibald and Kemi Coker, who have owned and run Numark Pharmacist, Kemkay Chemist — an independent business in Avenue Road, Freshwater — for the past 20 years.

The couple and staff were in the chemists when the lorry collided with it — a sound described as like "an explosion" yesterday morning (Monday), at around 9.30am.

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"Our young female assistant was out front when it happened. She was really shocked," said Archibald.

"I was in the back of the shop when it happened. When I heard it, it felt like the building shook and I wondered what was happening. I saw it on CCTV.

"But when I went out into the front of the shop and saw what had happened, I felt upset, shock, everything — all in one.

"I thought, what do I do about it? Then I thought of the bigger picture — that no one was hurt. Thank God for that and that no lives were lost.

"Usually, at that time of the morning, I would have customers coming in and out, or stopping for a chat for five or ten minutes — several of them elderly and not very mobile — so I'm glad no one was there."

He said the crash has made a significant of impact on the business, with trade affected because the collision had caused damage to the front of the premises.

Despite the difficulties the Cokers had to contend with, they decided to continue dispensing prescriptions, from the back door of the premises — serving some of the most vulnerable people in the Freshwater community.

"We are trying to find a way of coping so that we don't disappoint our customers who have prescriptions dropped in with us. There are a lot of them.

"We are seeing people at the back door of the pharmacy, but in terms of sales, if has affected us badly.

"Yesterday (Monday), we did everything possible to provide a service — and most of the customers were understanding.

"Because of the kind of business we run, we have a moral obligation to carry on. We have a lot of elderly here.

"We've got to know generations of people. They are like family."

The Isle of Wight Council's building control surveyor inspected the property damage, to assess any structural issues.

"We are hoping there are no structural problems, but until we learn more, there is nothing we can do. It is out of our hands," Archibald concluded.

The pharmacy is currently open via Tennyson Road, 9am until 6pm, Monday to Friday (closed for lunch 1pm-2pm), and on Saturdays, 9am until 3pm (closed 12pm-1pm for lunch).