Professor tells of trauma of living at a crash hotspot

repairs will be needed, which he expects to be covered by insurance.

The Porters have been staying with neighbours following the incident, which police are investigating.

Mr Porter said: “The first two nights the fire brigade wouldn’t let us in and after that my wife has been so upset we’ve been staying elsewhere on and off.”

The former University of Bristol professor recalled the first time the house was hit, in 2008.

“A BMW hit our front wall and the garden which had to be rebuilt completely,” he said. “Our car was written off.”

Last Christmas Eve, the Porters were woken by a bang at 2am and saw a BMW had hit their car and the wall of their home, damaged some brickwork and knocked down a drainpipe.

“The repair work went on until early February,” Mr Porter added. “We only had a few months of peace before what happened last week.”

The Old Court House lies near the one-way system where Hallen Road meets Henbury Road and Kings Weston Road.

“People come along Kings Weston Road very fast and then sharply turn into the one-way system,” Mr Porter said. “They are 20mph roads, but you see people doing up to 50mph almost on an hourly basis.

“I’d have thought the authorities would have noticed something needs to be done by now. God knows how much it is costing to call out the emergency services and structural engineers every time this happens.”

Mr Porter believes four to six speed bumps to slow down drivers heading onto Hallen Road from Kings Weston Road would be “a damn sight cheaper” than dealing with more accidents.

He would also like to see a crash barrier on the triangular green at the centre of the one-way system.

Charles and Anne Claxton, both 78, who live nearby, have seen about eight cars crash into the garden wall