'Lorry crash into youth club will cause dismay'

A lorry crash into a youth centre will cause "dismay and disruption" for those who use it, a charity has said.

Ludlow Youth Club is shut until further notice, after the lorry also crashed into parked vehicles and a railway bridge, in the early hours of Monday morning.

It has forced the suspension of youth club services on a Tuesday that are run by Shropshire Youth Association (SYA).

Shropshire Council, which owns the building, said it was working with services in the hub to see if they could be moved to other venues, confirming an update would be issued by Wednesday.

"We were quite shocked to see the images and the damage that was caused," said SYA's chief executive officer, Richard Parks.

"For the time being, we are not going to be able to use the building."

He added the charity was working with the council, and was awaiting a full structural engineer report before taking next steps.

Mr Parks said it was a "very popular" club, with other groups' activities also taking place there.

"We cap the numbers at around 25 each week, but we always have a waiting list," he said.

"This half term we will look at either delivering provision in open spaces or in buildings that Shropshire Council can find for us.

"If we cant do those… we will put on a trip for the young people which scoops up those hours we would've had the youth club open."

He told the BBC that keeping engaged with young people and their parents was important.

"All youth clubs are very important, it's a place where young people can go and socialise outside of school life," he added.

The crash happened at about 00:20 BST on Monday, with West Mercia Police telling the BBC no-one was injured and no arrests had been made.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said it received a call about the crash at 00:26 BST.

Four fire appliances, including a rescue tender, were sent to the scene from Craven Arms, Ludlow and Wellington.

West Mercia Police said anyone with dashcam, or who may have been in the area at the time, should get in touch.

"Any information, no matter how minor it may seem, could be valuable in helping us understand the circumstances of the collision," it said.

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