'WE are still open' - that's the message of Cockermouth's Market Place businesses following a wagon crash which has saw the Kirkgate area of the town closed.

Cumberland council have placed an emergency road closure on Kirkgate after extensive property damage from a vehicle collision which occurred on the evening of July 19, with the council saying they do not yet know when the road will re-open.

Cumbria police attended the scene confirming that a driver was identified and reported following the incident.

A spokesman for Allerdale police, said: "The driver of the vehicle has been identified, spoken to and reported for driving without due care and attention. Officers would like to thank members of the public and businesses for their understanding and assistance whilst emergency services dealt with the situation."

Family run restaurant Fermento who are based in the Market Place have issued a message to customers emphasising that Market Place.

In a statement on social media, Fermento said: "Most of you have probably heard about this already, but last night there has been an emergency road closure.

"Whilst Market Place stays open, the end of Kirkgate isn't at the moment, so our advice is to avoid coming down Kirkgate when visiting Market place for the time being.

"A special thank you to everyone for being understanding when we had to call to cancel our takeaways and bookings last night with zero notice due to having to evacuate just when we were about to open.

"And thank you to Allerdale Police and emergency services for getting on top of everything as fast as they could while keeping calm and kind to everyone involved."

Cumberland councillor for the area, Helen Tucker said: "It's obviously very disappointing that the road has been closed, its sad that the road has been closed, but it is for safety reasons peoples safety is paramount and everybody is working very hard to make sure that when the road re-opens it will be done safely.

"I would also like to thank the emergency services for coming out so quickly yesterday and for the teams from the highways department and for the teams from the highways department who came along very quickly closed off the road and made sure that everything was safe."

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service were called to the incident at 5:53pm on June 19, following reports that a vehicle had struck a building.

A crew from Cockermouth Fire Station attended the scene, along with a service Group Manager and Station Manager, who assisted partner agencies in managing the incident.