The owner of the iconic Blackheath tea hut has pledged to rebuild the decades old landmark after hundreds expressed their dismay over its loss, donating thousands.

The tea hut was nearly completely destroyed after a car ploughed into it at the Junction of Shooters Hill Road and Goffers Road at around 7pm last night. Two people inside the hut at the time were hospitalised after the building was hit so hard "the entire hut had spun 90 degrees."

The photos taken after the incident show the building in an extremely bad state, and many have paid tribute on social media to the 'death' of the tea hut.

But today, owner Dubster Arfurzer defiantly posted that they "will not be defeated by one reckless driver" and will be rebuilding the tea hut.

In the post, he says that the female staff member inside at the time of the incident is now stable and her family are relieved, though she has suffered a breast plate and ribs.

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The driver of the car, a woman, was treated at the scene as were four bikers for injuries and shock, according to Mr Arfurzer.

London Ambulance Service said three people were taken to hospital, but their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

The owner also thanked the public for their kind words, stating that "with a heavy heart we had to get in heavy machinery in the early hours to tear the actual building down as it had been hit so hard the entire hut spun 90 degrees, ripping out all of the water, gas and electrical services."

The building was left 80% destroyed and structurally unsafe, but despite this the owner vowed to rebuild.

Members of the public have already raised several thousand pounds for the tea hut, with numerous different fundraisers being set up to help rebuild the piece of Blackheath history.

A GoFundMe page has so far raised £2,300 whilst a JustGiving page has raised just under this.

People on social media were delighted at the news, with one saying they were "extremely relieved" and another stating that they couldn't wait for it to "rise from the ashes like a phoenix."

During the night, many had paid tribute to the Blackheath tea hut, such as the Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe who called it a "south east London institution."

One tweeter, Blackheath resident Danny Baker, said the tea hut had been there literally all his life, and was as much a part of Blackheath as the church and village.

Dawnie Healey, who set up one of the fundraisers, said: "I wanted to start this campaign to raise funds to help get the Tea Hut rebuilt ASAP along with funds to help the staff members for any loss of earnings too."

She said she had been a regular at the tea hut when she lived in London, and said the "iconic piece of local Blackheath history" was much-loved.