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Search forMatlock home damaged by crane could take six months to repair
Thursday, August 14, 2008, 07:30
Jacqueline Fletcher, husband Raymond and daughter Sally had a lucky escape when the crane ploughed into the front of their Matlock home at 8.10am yesterday.
But they now face an anxious wait while their insurance company and builders decide the fate of their home, which has been up for sale for about a year.
Mrs Fletcher, 52, arrived back at the semi-detached house in Lynholmes Road just minutes after the accident, after dropping her daughter off at work.
She said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the crane sticking out of the front of the house. It was lucky none of us were inside at the time.
"We've been told that it is going to be at least six months before we can move back in as the whole side of the house will have to be replaced – it's shifted about three inches where the crane hit it.
"We have to wait for the insurance company to inspect the damage and then it will be boarded up, so it's secure.
"It's been on the market for about a year as well, so the estate agents will take it off temporarily while the repair work is being carried out."
The family plan to stay with relatives for a couple of weeks and it is hoped the insurance company will provide alternative accommodation after that.
Police finally reopened Lynholmes Road at about 2.10pm yesterday, after the crane had been removed from the house.
It will now be thoroughly examined by police experts in Derby to try and establish why the accident happened.
It is believed that the driver had been travelling down Lime Tree Road when the lorry's brakes failed and, in a desperate attempt to avoid disaster, he steered the crane into Lynholmes Road, which runs slightly uphill.
But he hit two cars parked in the street and careered into the house.
Nobody was injured, although residents said that, had it happened a few weeks earlier, the results could have been catastrophic.
Judith Gamble, 60, owns a Ford Mondeo, one of the cars damaged in the accident.
She said: "It's lucky the kids are off school. Usually, at that time, there'd be children and parents all over the place."
The crane belongs to Nottingham-based company Axis Crane Hire and it is believed it was being driven to a building site in Darley Dale.
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