PASSERS-BY were given a glimpse into the past this week as work began on a new development at a site which has been a blot on the townscape for 40 years.

The open space, in Worcester Road, Bromsgrove, is considered by many an eyesore in the recently smartened up street.

Last September saw the unveiling of a major £270,000 package of improvements to upper Worcester Road which gave it a much needed facelift after years of neglect which had left it shabby.

The site was once occupied by Hadley's Pet Shop, the Sampson pub and several old cottages bordering Little Lane.

Now the Bromsgrove-based firm Elmsvyne plans to erect shops and flats on the land.

Beneath a thin crust of bricks and soil, excavations have revealed the pub's extensive brick lined cellars.

Bromsgrove, or more accurately The Sampson made national newspaper headlines in October 1962.

A lorry laden with nine tons of apples veered off the road, tore off the pub's front and demolished the bar.

The only casualty was the driver who suffered minor cuts.

Landord Francis Correy had a lucky escape. He was chatting in the bar to a friend at the time and the crumpled cab came to rest just feet from where he stood.

The Daily Mirror carried the dramatic picture of the remains of the pub on its front page next morning.

Beyond repair, the pub which was one of seven all close by and which had helped slake the thirsts of residents in that part of town for a century, was pulled down.