Residents in Darwen said they were woken up by a ‘large bang’ on Wednesday night (July 17).

This is after a black car crashed into the Secord World War Spitfire memorial sculpture, on Borough Road.

Emergency services were spotted at the site of the crash and police have been approached for more details about the crash.

Darwe statue after crashDarwe statue after crash (Image: NQ) Darwen statue, after the crash 

After the crash, people posted to social media and said the “large bang” woke them up. They also left messages, hoping everyone involved in the crash was okay.

It does not appear that the sculpture was seriously damaged.

The £175,000 stainless steel sculpture was unveiled in 2012. The large steel arm holding a model Spitfire, one-twelfth the size of a real one, commemorates the huge fundraising effort in the town, when £5,000 was raised by public subscription to buy the aircraft for the RAF.

It had been built by apprentice engineers from the town’s metal fabrication firm WEC and had taken more than two years to make.

The Spitfire was accepted into service in 1941 and lasted about six months. It is thought to have been shot down somewhere over Holland.

Police have been approached for more information.