Third time unlucky - car ploughs into home...again
WOMAN FEARS SOMEONE WILL BE KILLED SOON IF ROAD SAFETY ACTION IS NOT TAKEN
Reporter ACTION must be taken at an accident blackspot after a car careered crazily off the road and ploughed into a living room...for the third time.
Susan Butler was woken by her daughter’s screams following the crash on Half Moon Street in Stakeford, Northumberland, on Wednesday night.
Nobody was injured - but this is not the first time a driver coming off the road has caused damage to her property.
Since moving in in 2005, Susan said it is the third time a vehicle has smashed through the safety barriers on the corner opposite the Lord Barrington pub.
Now, she is repeating calls for speed bumps or stronger barriers to be introduced.
Susan, 64, said: “This is not the first time this has happened, but this one was definitely the worst.
“About 18 months ago, a car coming in the opposite direction hit the same barriers which landed in my front garden, damaging my front door and wall.
“I said to the council then, we have got to do something. These barriers are not stopping anything coming through, they are
neither use nor ornament. I pleaded for speed bumps on the corner or improved barriers like the ones you see on motorways. Traffic calming is what we want.
“I want the council to see the damage, but they have not even come out. I’m getting really annoyed, they do not seem bothered.
“What’s it going to take for somebody to do something about it? This is a fatality waiting to happen.”
The red vehicle crashed into Susan’s home at 10.10pm on Wednesday.
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene, and the front of the property remains boarded up.
Next-door neighbour Margaret Hughes and her husband were woken by a “big bang” which shook her whole house.
She estimates her property has suffered damage four times since 1982, and has echoed Susan’s calls for improved safety measures.
David Nicholson, chair for Choppington Parish Council, confirmed the authority’s intention to support the community’s calls.
He said: “Residents are entirely correct, there needs to be urgent action taken to make the road safe. As a consequence of cuts, communities are facing situations like this.
“I visited Susan and saw the devastation first hand. It’s a miracle that people were not seriously injured or there was no loss of life.”
A Northumberland County Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of this crash and the local concerns that have been raised.
“In response we will be carrying out speed surveys in the area. Once theses have been studied we will be seeing what action can be taken.”