'˜Big bang' as BMW ploughed into house

A man was in the front room of the property on Darlington Street East, Wigan, when the white BMW ploughed into it at 11.30pm on Sunday.

It was a big shock for the man and his wife, who was upstairs at the time.

He said: “I was sitting here doing my paperwork and suddenly there was a big bang and the wall started falling. I wondered if it was an earthquake or the wall was falling down.

“I couldn’t open the front door because it was jammed. I didn’t know what had happened. Our neighbour shouted that a car had hit the house and not to open the door as it may fall off.”

The collision caused a crack in the front of the house, which went through to the inside, and knocked out many bricks near the front door.

The couple and the driver were shaken but unhurt.

It is understood the driver was breathalysed at the scene and was not found to be over the legal drink-drive limit.

Simon Connor, crew manager at Wigan fire station, said: “We called for the building inspector. The fire service remained on scene until he had been and decided it was safe to live in.

“Due to the hole at the corner of the door, we made it safe and weather-tight. We plugged the hole up the best we could to make sure it was nice and safe and keep the damage due to the weather to a minimum.”

The couple thanked the emergency services, neighbours and everyone involved for their help.