Gavin Holliday outside JE James Cycles on Bramall Lane

An Alfa Romeo smashed into JE James Cycles on Bramall Lane after the driver failed to negotiate the sharp bend at the junction with Alderson Road.

The car went straight over the traffic island - tearing the petrol tank and sump out - and hit the premises head-on.

The accident, which happened shortly before 4am, has caused thousands of pounds' worth of damage to the shop. The impact broke the front shutter into two pieces and pushed it into the shop.

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A piece of the kerb was found across the other side of the junction.

Grainy CCTV footage from the shop shows the car smashing into the shop. The occupants emerge and then walk away.

Minutes earlier, a car had turned right from Bramall Lane into Alderson Road. They would have taken the full force of the impact.

Assistant manager Gavin Holliday recalls a string of similar incidents in recent years.

There was a fatality nearby in 2004 when a car came from the same direction, missed the shop and hit a car coming the other way up Bramall Lane.

Mr Holliday has four clippings from The Star - from 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2014 - and has written to Sheffield Council twice.

He said the paper articles had previously brought success. A reader contacted police with some information which led to a conviction.

The causes of the accidents, Mr Holliday said, were simple: Excessive speed and drivers not knowing the road.

Less traffic means they can fly along that stretch, before coming unstuck at the sharp bend.

Mr Holliday said the latest incident was among the worst.

One crash damaged the back of the building extensively.

"It was horrendous," Mr Holliday said.

The council erected a large sign after the last crash, in 2014, warning drivers of the turn in the road.

Mr Holliday said he thought that was working well.

"We'd had three years of no incidents," he said.

"I was starting to hope this sign had done the job it was designed to do."

He said he planned to write to the council to update them on the situation.