Oxford Bus Company crash: Family 'gutted' after single-decker careers into house

A man whose house was hit by a bus after it careered down a hill has said he is "absolutely gutted and heartbroken".

Dramatic footage of Wednesday's crash in Morrell Avenue, Oxford, was captured on a mobile phone.

Robert Dyer said he feared the roof of his home would fall in. He added repairs to the council-owned property could take up to six months.

Oxford Bus Company said it was working to recover its single-decker vehicle.

It added it did not believe the crash was due to a mechanical defect.

Mr Dyer, who has lived in the house with his wife and children since 1997, was alone at home watching television when the crash happened.

The 55-year-old said: "Suddenly there was this crash. I thought it was the roof coming down. I ran outside and I saw the bus. And I thought, 'What the flip has happened here?'

"I'm feeling absolutely gutted and heartbroken. We've all been in tears."

Oxford City Council, which owns the property, offered to put the family in a hotel temporarily, but they are currently staying with a relative.

But Mr Dyer said the family wanted to return home as soon as possible.

"We enjoy living here. It's a great community to live in. There's no way we're moving out," he added.

A spokesman for Oxford Bus Company said engineers had been unable to examine the bus since the crash.

"We are working with relevant parties on how to recover the vehicle safely from the site of the incident to our Cowley depot to allow this to happen," he said.

"However, our preliminary investigation and knowledge of the vehicle type involved suggest at this early stage that the primary cause was not related to any mechanical defect, but we cannot confirm this fully until the vehicle has been recovered."

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