Lorry-hit pub thriving under new management

A pub which was badly damaged when a lorry crashed into it is thriving under new management, after reopening following a major restoration project.

The Three Fishes in Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury, had to be partially demolished after it was struck by a lorry in November 2024.

Following repairs, the pub reopened in October and is now being run by landlady Anna Lowe, who relocated to the area from south Wales.

"We've been here for just over a month now and things are going really well," said Lowe, who ran a social club before taking on the pub.

She described how business had got off to a strong start and pub regulars had been welcoming and friendly since their arrival.

"Especially with what's happened to the pub, the amount of people that have come in and said how much bigger it is, how much better it looks," she said.

"It's a much friendlier place by the sounds of it, that's what we're getting from the regulars now that are coming back in."

The pub was bought by Black Country Ales shortly before the crash and underwent extensive rebuilding work, with parts of the building demolished due to the damage.

A Chinese takeaway next door, which was also struck in the incident, has also since reopened.

Lowe, who runs the pub with her partner Jon Lawrance, said running a pub was "exhausting" and "hectic" but they were thrilled to be in Bayston Hill.

"It's a nice environment to work in now," she said.

"It's non-stop every single day, but it's also a good thing."

Firefighters took an hour to cut the lorry driver free after the crash on 11 November 2024, in which no one else was injured.

Lowe joked that a plaque could be installed where the lorry had hit the building.

"The amount of people that have come in and said to us they were here the night before the lorry went into it," she said.

"I think it looks great now, compared to what it was before."

The pub scene in the village has another new entrant, the Bunkum Tap, a micro-pub which is due to open on The Parade on 13 November.

The "real community village place" has been created by local couple Rhea and Simon Alton, who said the name derived from an old word used by locals for Bayston Hill.

"I actually worked behind the bar of the Three Fishes for eight years when I was younger, and there are a few of my fellow barmen and women who've said they'd happily jump behind the bar and assist," Rhea added.

Despite the economic head-winds facing the pub trade, she said the village had supported four pubs in her lifetime, so "hopefully Bayston Hill will just come alive with all the places that are opening up".

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