BUILDERS blundered when they knocked down the wall of a pub’s beer garden.

They demolished the wall at The Victoria in Woolston , Southampton , just minutes after customers enjoyed drinks outdoors.

Crest Nicholson, the firm which is regenerating the neighbouring 31-acre site of the former Vosper Thorny-croft shipyard into hundreds of homes, said its workers were breaking up a concrete pavement when it happened.

Landlady Shirley Halford heard a crashing noise that rocked the pub and ran out to see the wall strewn across the beer garden.

She said: “Somebody could have been hurt or worse, killed.

“What they did was outrageous – but they just said ‘Whoops, sorry.”

Mrs Halford claims that shortly before the wall collapsed a builder came in and asked her whether she wanted the wall knocked down and rebuilt – but she refused.

She said the incident comes after months of disruption to trade. Now she says she may take legal action if the wall of the Victorian pub is not restored to how it was.

She estimates it could cost £10,000 to repair.

Crest Nicholson spokeswoman Debbie Aplin pledged that the company would try to repair it.

She said: “The vibrations caused by the works appear to have resulted in a wall on the perimeter of The Victoria collapsing, owing to fact that the wall was in a state of disrepair.

“We are working with the licensee and the contractor to ensure the damage is rectified as quickly as possible.

“We have agreed with the licensee of The Victoria to install a fence as a temporary measure and to bring forward the schedule of repair.”