GOOD Friday ended with a real bang and a crash for two Williton couples when they woke to find a car embedded in the front of one of their semi- detached homes. Retired Arthur Chilcott and his wife Cilla's house in Larviscombe Road suffered the brunt of the damage in the incident, which happened just before 1am on Saturday, but neighbours Paddy and Margaret Gower's home was also affected. Cracks have appeared on the outside of both houses and also on the inside wall of the Chilcotts' living room. "I'd been in bed about a quarter of an hour and was just going off to sleep when I heard this terrific noise, a huge thud and bang," Mrs Chilcott told the Free Press. "I looked out of the window and could see a car had collided with the front of the house, just near the walkway between our home and the Gowers. "It was just such a shock and very frightening. You see this sort of thing on television but you never expect it to happen in your own street - we've lived here for more than 40 years. "I just couldn't stop shaking. I kept thinking what might have happened if it had been daytime and anyone had been walking past at the time. It was just very lucky that no-one was hurt." The incident was something of a miraculous escape for Mr Gower, a local parish councillor. "I had been standing outside almost at the spot where the car ended up only ten minutes earlier because I had been walking my dog," he said. "The vehicle caught my parked car as it came off the road and went through the Chilcotts' garden before it collided with the front of the house. "It was a bit of a shock to say the least and it's damaged both our houses. "I called the police immediately but the incident brought the whole street out." Both houses are owned by Magna West Somerset Housing Association whose surveyor was on the scene within an hour or so of it happening. Dean Gill, Magna's technical and property services manager, said the immediate checks had confirmed that the Chilcotts' home in particular was structurally safe, that they were happy to remain there and did not need to be temporarily rehoused. "It is early days to know the full extent of the damage but it appears it is significant and will be high value because there is damage to the brickwork on both the inside and outside of the house." Mr Gill said surveyors had visited the site again on Tuesday to ensure the property was still structurally safe. A spokesman for the Avon and Somerset police said that following the incident a man had been reported for summons in connection with possible driving offences.
