A car has collided with a Hitchin pub and restaurant, causing damage to the building and a nearby Openreach box.

Police were called at 10.17pm last night to reports of a black Mercedes Coupe that crashed into The Radcliffe Arms pub in Walsworth Road.

It was reported that a group of men left the vehicle and then made off on foot along Highbury Road.

Another vehicle, a silver Audi A3, was also damaged in the collision, along with an Openreach box.

The fire and rescue service were called to assess any structural damage to the building and Highways were also called due to an oil spillage.

A road closure was put in place while emergency services dealt with the incident.

Both vehicles were recovered and the road was re-opened at around 1.30am.

No injuries were reported but enquiries are ongoing to trace the occupants of the Mercedes.

An Openreach spokesperson said: “Our cabinet outside the Radcliffe Arms at Hitchin was destroyed by a road traffic accident last night and our engineers attended the site and worked together with builders working on the structural repair of the pub to make the area safe.

“We’re now doing our best to restore service as quickly as possible, but it will be a complex repair.

“We understand how frustrating this must be for anyone is affected – we encourage anyone experiencing any disruption with their phone or broadband service to report it to their service provider who will then inform us.”

Any witnesses or anyone with information should call the non-emergency number 101 quoting ISR 738 of 25 October.