Blast fear as house struck by car

A grandmother feared she would die in an explosion when a car driven by a suspected drink-driver smashed into her house, almost rupturing gas pipes.

Marion Lovell, 59, had just gone to bed in the downstairs bedroom of her Newcastle home on Tuesday night, when the Nissan Micra smashed into the wall.

The impact caused some structural damage, with the car missing gas pipes by inches.

A 19-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

The vehicle skidded along four gardens before ploughing into Mr Lovell's West Thorp home.

Mrs Lovell's downstairs bedroom was directly in the path of the speeding car.

She said: "I knew the car wasn't far off the main gas pipe.

The impact caused damage to the gas meter box

"I was terrified and tried to get out of the front door. I shouted for my husband who was upstairs on the computer, but we couldn't get out. I was just in a total panic because we couldn't get out."

The force of the impacts smashed a gas meter box, cracked brickwork and smashed windows.

Mrs Lovell said she was told by gas engineers that she had been lucky not to have been involved in an explosion.

Police and fire crews arrived at the scene and helped Marion and her 60-year-old husband Terry out of the property.

Transco later declared the area safe.

Newcastle City Council, which owns the house, is assessing the extent of the damage.

Police have appealed for witnesses.