Two mums have spoken of their horror after a huge ASDA lorry smashed into the front of their houses. They said it was just pure luck no one was injured as work got underway determine if the two family homes are safe to stay in after the drama in Bolton this morning (Tuesday).
The articulated lorry had driven up Napier Drive in Horwich after the driver's sat-nav told him he was able to get through to Chorley New Road, locals said, when it is in fact a cul-de-sac blocked by bollards at one end.
The HGV then backed into two semi-detached properties as it tried to turn in the road causing suspected structural damage police said. ASDA have apologised and say they are "working to help fix the damage as soon as possible.”
Two mums who were inside the houses with their kids at the time have told the Manchester Evening News they were left terrified following the smash, which left the back of the lorry embedded in the wall of their downstairs bathrooms, and them fearing their homes may collapse as a result.
One, aged 32, who did not want to be named was at home with her kids aged 10 and five. "The driver knocked on my door initially and asked if the dad of my kids, who had come to pick them up, could move his car which was parked outside which he said he would and my kids were at the window watching this massive articulated HGV" she said.
"Their dad then sent them upstairs and I was sitting at my computer working when it happened. At first, I thought a chest of drawers must have fallen onto the kids or something it was just an almighty crash. The whole house just shuddered. It was like an earthquake.
"I ran upstairs but they were fine and it was when I came back down and opened the door through to the porch I could see the back of the lorry through the wall. You couldn't have opened my front door and I wouldn't even have dared try.
"I went and grabbed my kids but then I was kind of frozen. I was s******g myself. I didn't know if the house was going to fall down or what.
"I got my kids out and my neighbours over the road were amazing and looked after them for me whilst we tried to make sense of it and start getting things sorted. The driver was really apologetic.
"If it had gone in a bit further and my kids were still watching at the window, well, it doesn't bear thinking about."
Both families say vehicles, including emergency vehicles driving up the street thinking they access Chorley New Road was a recurring problem on the estate, despite the fact it is a cul-de-sac being indicated on street signs and they also say they would like to see further action taken to tackle it.
The woman's 29-year-old neighbour, who was at home with her children, aged four and seven, whilst her husband was out at work said: "The kids were going back and forth between the dining room and living room having their breakfast. One had actually just been in the downstairs toilet a few minutes before.
"There was this massive bang. Instinctively, and thankfully, the kids ran to the back of the house. I was running around thinking 'what the f*** was that?'
"I opened my front door and there can't have been more than a two feet gap between me and lorry. As soon as I started opening the door stuff started falling down. My house was literally crumbling before my eyes. It was really scary. I'm still shaking now."
The woman's husband then made a dash back to Bolton from Leeds to help his partner deal with the aftermath. "She rang me and said 'I've got some bad news'" he said. "I thought the telly had broke or something. Then she said 'a lorry has crashed into the house' and I just said 'what??' I couldn't believe it. I got back here as quick as I could."
"Once I'd got my kids safe and I was stood outside it just hit me then and I started crying" the woman added. "I just looked back and thought 'that's my house!'
"It's just not what you expect when you wake up in the morning - a lorry to end up in your downstairs bathroom. But we're all safe and that's the main thing."
Police and fire crews attended and helped oversee the safe removal of the lorry. Both families are now waiting to hear if they are able to stay in their homes as possible structural damage is investigated. Workers could be seen erecting wooden frames to help support the damaged walls at the front of the properties.
"At around 10am this morning, officers attended an RTC call at Napier Drive, Horwich," a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
"It transpired that a lorry had tried to turn in the road and had backed into two houses causing structural damage. No injuries were reported" they added.
A Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said earlier: "At around 10.30am on Tuesday 26 July, firefighters were called out to Napier Drive, Bolton where a lorry had collided into two houses. The vehicle has been removed from the houses.
"A fire engine from Horwich Fire Station attended the scene and has now handed the incident over to a building inspector from the local council who is carrying out an assessment of the properties damaged."
Bolton Council confirmed two officers from their building control department had been at the scene today.
A spokesperson for ASDA said: "We are very sorry about the accident that happened in Horwich today and are working to help fix the damage as soon as possible.”
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