Club members still suffering from shock of tragic lorry crash

It was a horrific scene straight from a tragic Hollywood thriller when a lorry ploughed through the walls of a bustling social club, killing its driver.

And today members of the Royal British Legion club in Wednesbury today said they were still trying to come to terms with the tragedy as they try hard to resume some normality at the venue.

Just two days after the devastating crash the club re-opened and last night hosted a New Year's Eve party for around 100 revellers.

Chairman Leigh Jones said although everyone was still 'very much in shock', the club was keen to get back to normal.

"A lot of people are upset about it and there are some who are still scared to come in because of what happened," he said.

"Everyone is aware that it could have been so much worse if the lorry had come through the bar and into the main room. We were so lucky that no one that was in the snooker room when the lorry hit was injured," he said.

The club re-opened on Saturday after members rallied around to clean up and a poignant ceremony was held in memory of 55-year-old Polish lorry driver Henryk Jackowski, who lost his life in the crash.

Mr Jones, aged 39, said Mr Jackowski's family, who are believed to live in West Bromwich, also visited the club. "We wanted to do something in memory of the driver. A wreath was laid and we also held a minute's silence," he said.

The lorry smashed into the snooker room, which has been boarded up ahead of rebuilding work starting next week.

Today the family inside the snooker room when the lorry struck have spoken for the first time.

Lisa Tonks was in the room with her husband Brian, 42, and children Lucy, 10, Kerrie, six and Jack, three. Her daughter Kirsty, 19, was in another part of the club while daughter Jamie-Lee, 17, was not in attendance. Mrs Tonks, a 38-year-old NHS worker, from Pound Road, Wednesbury, said: "My son was sitting nearest to where the truck came in and my husband had to drag my two girls away. I saw the roof coming in and I had to drag my son away, otherwise it would have fallen on top of him. I am still suffering from the shock of it all, we are not sleeping at all. We were about a foot away from where it happened.

"What I thought was a wall was actually the cab of the lorry that I saw come through.

"At first I thought it was thunder, my husband thought it was a gas explosion, we just saw the wall crumbling."

Tool setter Mr Tonks, added: "We just grabbed the kids and got out and told people in the bigger room to get out. We had no idea it was a truck. We were out of there in seconds."