‘I thought that our living room ceiling had fallen down’

A DAD has described the moment he realised a car had smashed through the front of his family home.

Tattoo artist Brim Sorci, 52, said there were nine people in the house at the time, including grandparents and children.

It is the latest incident in which a car has crashed into a South Wales home.

As reported in yesterday’s Echo, an unconnected crash saw a car cause £80,000 of damage when it ploughed into a property in Maesteg.

In the latest incident Mr Sorci, from Caerphilly, said the family were sitting in the dining room in the middle of the house when the crash happened.

He added: “At about 6.45pm there was a huge crash and I thought our living room ceiling had fallen down.

“On rushing into the room I saw a silver car had crashed through our front window.

“There were three children (in the house). Two were mine who play in that window all the time, a five-yearold and a two-year-old.

“Luckily the road sign and the front wall took the momentum down, or I dread to think how much further damage would have been done”

The crash happened in Bartlett Street near Caerphilly town centre on Monday evening.

“The fire service told us we had to get out of the house until someone from the council came to assess if the house was structurally damaged,” Mr Sorci said.

“We had to wait roadside until everything was OK and cleared. The car was eventually taken away around 11pm and we were told we could re-enter our home.

“Luckily a local tradesman dropped everything for us and finished boarding us up around midnight.”

It is the second time a car has crashed into Mr Sorci’s house.

“The most annoying thing is that there was a local campaign to get speed bumps on this road,” he said.

“But the council assessed that there was not a problem with speeding cars, yet this is the second time in five years that a car has lost control on this bend and hit our house.”

A spokesperson for Gwent Police said: “At approximately 7pm on Monday April 2, 2018, Gwent Police were called to the scene of a road traffic collision, where it was reported that a silver, Volkswagen Golf had left the roadside and driven into a house on the end of Bartlett Street in Caerphilly.

“Gwent Police attended the scene, along with South Wales Fire and Rescue and the Ambulance Service. Fortunately, no one was hurt during the incident and no one needed any medical attention.”

A 35-year-old man has been charged with driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and driving without a valid licence and will appear before magistrates later this month.