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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Lynn Love & Tim Hanlon

Pensioner smashes car into woman's living room before coming back for frozen chips

A pensioner crashed his car into a living room to the horror of a mum who had been sat watching TV.

Maxine Holland, 36, was with her two kids Courtney, 10, and Macey, 4, at their Cowdenbeath home when she got the surprise of her life when the car smashed its way into her house at around 9pm last Sunday.

She heard a huge thud before the 71-year-old stunned pensioner was right before her and looking back, reported the Daily Record.

And not long after the man's daughter arrived to collect a bag of frozen chips that had been left in the crashed car.

Maxine's husband Gary Holland was at work at the time of the incident and said he received a frantic call from his wife screaming, telling him he needed to come home straight away.

Gary has said that the family have been given no explanation since about what happened and the only contact they have had from the pensioner, was a woman who he thinks was the man's daughter, asking if she could collect some frozen chips that were left in the car for his dinner.

Gary said he was shocked after the destruction that the pensioner wanted his frozen chips back from inside the car (Daily Record)

Security guard Gary told the Daily Record: "Maxine got such a fright, as you would expect. She was in total shock at what had just happened.

"She was just sitting watching the TV and bang, a man drives into our house. She said he was speechless too and was just sitting in the car with his mouth wide open. There was dust, rubble and bricks everywhere."

The man's car had hit a wall in the living room which then jammed the door leading the hallway, meaning Maxine could not get upstairs to get her children.

Gary added: "She said was panicking and screaming, worried about their safety too.

"Courtney and Macey didn't know what was going on. They just heard this massive noise and then heard their mum screaming. It's was traumatising for all of them."

A neighbour heard the commotion and came out to help. He was able to forcefully pull the door open and rescue the children from their bedrooms.

The mum suddenly found the driver staring back at her in the family's living room (Daily Record)
Gary said that he wants there to be an investigation into what happened (Daily Record)

"I'm so grateful to the neighbours for helping the girls and Maxine out," Gary continued.

"I'm just so glad they are all safe. If the girls had been playing in the living at the time, I dread to think what could have happened.

"Macey usually sits at a wee table at the window colouring in. If she had been doing that when this happened she would have got seriously injured.

"It's frightening to even think what could have happened."

Gary said they have not been told if an investigation will be carried out to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash.

He said: "We don't know how this happened, we've not had an apology or an explanation from anyone. The man was checked over by paramedics but wasn't taken to the hospital.

"The last I heard from this man's family was when his daughter, I think that's who it was, asked me if she could get the bag of frozen chips he had left in the car because he wanted them for his dinner.

"This was about an hour after it happened. I was speechless. I was standing looking at the state of my house and they were thinking about his chips."

The crash has caused extensive damage to the property and it has been deemed unsafe for the family to live in.

"The main thing is everyone is okay, but what's happened has caused a lot of trauma to my family and an upheaval. I'd like to think it was being investigated," said Gary.

A Police Scotland spokesperson told the Daily Record: "Officers attended a one vehicle crash on Anderson Drive, Cowdenbeath, at around 9.15pm on Sunday, 10 April, 2022.

"Emergency services attended and the driver of the car, a 71-year-old man, was checked by the ambulance service. There will be no further police action."

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