Driver smashes rare ancient cross in church crash

An out-of-control driver ploughed into a churchyard wall and smashed a rare Anglo-Saxon preaching cross.

The car careered into the medieval Grade-II listed church of St Luke in Farnworth, Widnes, at about 20:40 BST on Friday.

It snapped the 9th Century cross, which is a scheduled monument, in half after shattering a sandstone wall.

Church official Clare Liptrott said: "We're relieved nobody was hurt or killed but shocked at what happened."

She said CCTV footage from a local shop showed a cyclist going past the impact spot 15 seconds earlier.

"You dread to think what might have happened if the cyclist was there moments later," she said.

"It seems the cross saved the church, which sounds like a theological comment."

She added: "The church is on a sharp left hand bend and the driver must have been going at some speed to drive straight on and smash the wall to break the cross.

"It's a blessing neither the driver nor anybody else was killed."

Church authorities said the driver fled but was later found by police.

The car was removed by officers just after midnight, with the area made safe by a church warden and assistant on Saturday morning.

Ms Liptrott said the church hoped an insurance claim would cover the majority of the damage but the repair to the cross would be expensive as it will require a specialist stone mason.

The repair could be twice that of a recent repair to one of the church's gargoyles, which cost £8,000.

Cheshire Police said officers responding to the crash found the car unoccupied, but following a search of the area, a man was arrested on suspicion of drug-driving.

It added that he had since been released under investigation.

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