Holt house hit by three cars 'at risk of collapse'

A house has been partially destroyed after a car crashed though its wall, making it the third time it has been struck by a vehicle in 20 years.

Aubrey and Pat Eke, 77 and 78, were asleep upstairs when the car hit their home in Holt, Norfolk, on Monday.

It has left most of the house structurally unstable, Mr Eke said, with a surveyor due to assess the extent of the damage later.

A man, 25, was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

He was later released under investigation.

The couple were unhurt, but the driver of the VW Golf was taken to hospital to be checked over.

"We heard this almighty crash and I thought, oh no," said Mr Eke, who was awoken by the accident on Norwich Road in the early hours of the morning.

"I was stumbling around in the dark as it had taken all the electricity out, but I looked through all the rubble and the window and saw the driver had just got out."

It is believed the man had driven straight across a T-junction opposite the Eke's home before coming to an abrupt halt in the living room.

"It's the third time this has happened in the 20 years we've lived here, but this is by far the worst," Mr Eke said.

He said the couple could currently only use the conservatory and kitchen in the two-storey home and could not go upstairs to collect clean clothes.

"They [police] kept the road closed as they weren't sure whether vibrations from passing traffic might cause the house to fall down," said Mr Eke.

"Some of it has already moved about three inches."

Police officers who attended the crash said the house was left with "extensive damage", a Norfolk police spokeswoman said.

Mr Eke said he was "now on a mission" to get better road signage and other safety measures at the junction opposite his home.

A Norfolk County Council spokesperson, said: "We will visit the site to check that all signs and road markings are clearly visible and determine whether any further works are required."

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