Car crashed into man's home with 'almighty bang'

A man who was at home when a car crashed into his front room has said it is "amazing" that no lives were lost.

Phil Barnett, 80, was sitting downstairs in the home he shares with his wife in Canal View, Chirk Bank, Shropshire, when a car being pursued by North Wales Police smashed into their property shortly before 22:00 GMT on Saturday.

Barnett said: "There's this almighty bang, I thought something had fallen through the roof, one of my neighbours later said he thought something had fallen from a plane through the roof of the house, which about sums it up.

"It's just amazing that he got out, I didn't see a spot of blood anywhere. The fact that he's still alive, never mind us, is just amazing."

North Wales Police said the vehicle had failed to stop for officers, entered a road closure and struck a bridge before ending up inside the property.

Barnett said he was only a few feet away, sat on the other side of the wall.

"My wife was getting changed up in the bedroom immediately above where it happened, and she thought the boiler had exploded," he said.

"He'd [the driver] failed to stop, and he just drove straight through these roadworks, he'd got to be doing 60 or 70 miles an hour.

"The car just came straight through the bay window, upside down, I looked through this door and the next thing, I saw this policeman dragging this guy out… and putting handcuffs on him."

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the scene, and the driver, who suffered potentially serious injuries, was taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Fire crews removed the front bay window and surrounding brickwork. The couple's car was written off after being damaged in the incident and they are awaiting a structural engineer before the car can be removed.

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