Lorry crashes in woman's bedroom

The elderly woman was in bed when the lorry hit (pic: Dorset Fire Service)

An elderly woman escaped serious injury when a 30-tonne lorry jackknifed into her ground floor bedroom, showering her bed with bricks as she slept.

The accident, on the A348 Ringwood Road at Longham in Dorset, happened shortly after 0600 BST on Tuesday.

The woman was treated for shock and minor injuries, Dorset Police said.

The lorry driver had to be cut free from the wreckage and was taken to hospital with "relatively minor injuries", a spokesman said.

Fifteen firefighters were at the scene and building inspectors were checking the house.

If her bed had been one foot either way the outcome for her would have been far more serious Pc Shaun Ferguson

Dave Arundel, fire station manager, said: "It is a miracle that she was not more seriously hurt as the bricks from the wall had fallen in onto her bed where she was asleep.

"Crews did a great job at getting the driver out as swiftly and safely as possible so that colleagues from the ambulance service could tend to him.

"The roads are very slippery and although police are carrying out an investigation into exactly what happened, we would urge all drivers and motorcyclists to take extra care while conditions are so slippery and wet."

Pc Shaun Ferguson, of Dorset Police's Traffic Unit, said: "The lady householder was uninjured and had a very lucky escape.

The French lorry driver was knocked out in the crash

"If her bed had been one foot either way the outcome for her would have been far more serious.

"As it was her bed was covered with masonry and her two rough collies that were with her in the room also had very lucky escapes."

The lorry driver, a 64-year-old Frenchman from Saint Nazaire, Brittany, was knocked unconscious and taken to Poole General Hospital.

The road, which is a major route into Poole and Bournemouth, reopened at 0920 BST.

It was closed between Longham Lane roundabout and the Bear Cross roundabout.