The owner of a pet shop in Cults has thanked the community and emergency services who rushed to help when a car crashed into his storefront.
The incident took place at Pet Arc, located at The Courtyard shops, at about 10.30am on Friday.
Police, firefighters and paramedics were all dispatched to the scene where the storefront was heavily damaged by the impact.
The family-run business, which offers quality grooming and pet supplies, opened its doors in December.
Owner Anthony Reilly has said he can’t thank everyone who helped in the aftermath of the incident enough.
“It was a complete accident and thankfully no-one was hurt,” he told The Press and Journal.
“The emergency services were absolutely great in response.
“We’ve also had messages from friends and customers offering to help us clean up the mess, I couldn’t thank them enough.”
Emergency services rush to Pet Arc in Cults
There was a significant emergency response at Pet Arc on Friday morning but Anthony shared it was a local driver instructor who was there first to help.
“I’d also like to thank Jonathan Park,” he said. “He was first on the scene and was such a massive help.”
The entrance door was taken off its hinges and the glass panels of the windows were broken.
The fire service deployed four appliances, a heavy rescue unit and a command support unit to the scene.
Officers and paramedics, who treated and released one patient, were also in attendance.
Once the emergency services assessed the situation, glazing experts and engineers stepped in to make the area safe.
“Crest Glazing were brilliant at their job,” Anthony added. “And so was Charlie from Scottish & Southern Electricity Network (SSEN).”
‘Looking forward’ to welcoming back customers
Anthony shared the shop is now “safe and secure” but it could take a few more weeks to get a new shopfront fitted.
He is hopeful the store will be able to reopen to customers this weekend.
He added: “Our shop is now temporarily water tight.
“We will be in today to do a final clean up of the shop and hope to be open again this Sunday with business as usual.
“I want to say thank you to the community of Cults and the wider area of Aberdeen who support our family business.
“We look forward to seeing them again tomorrow and into the future.”
Anthony also sent his “best wishes” to the driver and the passenger who were in the car involved.
“I hope they are ok, they were so apologetic about the incident but accidents do happen sometimes,” he said.
“Nobody was hurt so it was all good.”
A police spokesperson said: “Around 10.30am on Friday, August 9, we were called to a report of a car crashing into a building in North Deeside Road, Cults.
“There are no reported injuries.”
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