Powys salon forced to close for days after car hits building

Jane Cooper has had to temporarily close her hair salon Hairatage after a blue Audi A3 crashed into her home and business in Carno during the early hours of Sunday morning (September 10).

The hairdresser has relived the drama of the crash which involved a major emergency service response that closed the A470 for 12 hours.

"I actually thought somebody had bombed my house,” Jane said. “It was terrifying. I flung the window open and all I could see was fire and I thought my house was on fire.

"I ran downstairs and opened the front door, and I realised it was actually the engine of the car in my front garden on fire, and the car was further down the road. It was absolutely unbelievable.

"The impact shook the house. I was in bed, and I thought either a thunderbolt had hit the house, or it had been bombed. I had no idea it was a car. It was pretty horrific."

A detached car engine was found in front of a damaged wall outside Hairatage salon in Carno (Image: Jane Cooper)

Emergency services responded to the serious crash in Carno on Sunday. (Image: Matthew Jones/Carno Spar)

Jane, who has been building her business since February, said she has been "overwhelmed" by the kindness shown by locals since Sunday.

"The people of Carno have been amazing," she said.

"I cannot even begin to comprehend the people who have offered me help and knocked on my door. They have gone above and beyond. I can’t get over it. They’ve been absolutely amazing.

"I was running on adrenaline and when the road reopened, and I saw an audience around my house that really hit me then and it made me tearful."

Jane added: "I have nowhere else to go. It’s completely out of my control. There’s absolutely nothing I can do. Please bear with me and hopefully I will reopen bigger and better.

"The salon was just about to pick up and now this. It’s unbelievable. Most of my clients will understand but I don’t want to lose them and go somewhere else."

A spokesman for Dyfed-Powys Police said: "Dyfed-Powys Police is investigating a road traffic collision which occurred on the A470 in Carno at about 4.35am, Sunday, 10th September 2023.

"A blue Audi A3 collided with a wall. Three occupants of the vehicle were taken to hospital.

"The road was closed while emergency services were at scene."

A resident in the village said they woke up to the sound of slates sliding from a roof after hearing a "big crash", and the owners of the family run Spar store described the collision as "serious".

The A470 road was closed while the incident was ongoing and remained shut until around 5pm while police carried out their investigation into how the crash happened.

The Mid and West Wales Fire Service said crews from Newtown, Llanfair Caereinion and Llanidloes were called to the scene as well as Dyfed-Powys Police and the Welsh Ambulance Service.

A spokesman said: "Two casualties were able to self-extricate from the front seats while crews had to extricate the third casualty from a rear seat using road traffic collision equipment including e-draulic cutters and spreaders, chocks and blocks, small gear and casualty care equipment."