A 63-YEAR-old man was taken to hospital by air ambulance with a serious leg injury on Christmas Eve, after a car mounted the pavement outside Woolworths in Tavistock's Duke Street, and crashed into the shopfront window.
A beige Nissan Micra, driven by a 77-year-old local woman, collided with the front of the store at about 11.50am. The woman received minor injuries.
Police said the car mounted the pavement and struck two men, before hitting one of the shop's front windows.
Police, two ambulances and two fire crews from Tavistock attended, while the air ambulance had to land in the town's parish churchyard to pick up the man, from Cheltenham, who sustained a suspected femur fracture.
The other man, a 46-year-old from Sevenstones near Callington, was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth by land ambulance with chest injuries.
Duke Street was closed to traffic for a few hours following the incident, while the car was recovered and made safe by firefighters, and to allow the police to collect evidence from the scene.
The police traffic division is currently investigating the cause of the accident.
Special constable Simon Dell, who was on duty in town at the time, said: 'We received a report that a car had collided with the shop window of Woolworths. The traffic division in Plympton are now investigating the cause of the collision and will be interviewing a number of witnesses, those injured and the driver of the vehicle.'
When the air ambulance landed in the churchyard a funeral was taking place in the church and Special Constable Dell expressed thanks to the Rev Michael Brierley and to the mourners for their understanding of the incident.
He said Mr Brierley was very helpful and even held prayers during the midnight service that evening for those injured.
Woolworths was closed for the day on health and safety grounds because of the damaged window. The store closed on Saturday, during the first round of national closures since the company announced it had gone into administration.