BRAKES arrived (too late): Food lorry ploughs into £565,000 Grade II thatched cottage… spilling bricks into pensioner’s home that missed him by inches
- Lorry from food wholesaler Brakes hit Paul Hammond’s home, in Breamore, Hants, while he was using his computer at 6.30am
- The delivery vehicle sent bricks tumbling just 6ft from where the retired project manager, 69, was sitting
- Driver of the lorry, a man in his 50s, was rushed to hospital after initially being trapped in the vehicle’s cab
- Brakes was founded by the grandfather of Charlie Brake – a contestant on reality TV show Love Island
A pensioner was shocked when a goods lorry smashed into his Grade II-listed thatched cottage this morning, just 6ft from where he was sitting.
Retired project manager Paul Hammond, 69, was typing on his computer at 6.30am when the lorry veered off the road and ploughed straight into his four-bedroom, 15th century house.
The whole cottage shook as the impact of the delivery vehicle from food wholesaler Brakes sent bricks tumbling around him.
Emergency services dashed to the scene, in Breamore, Hampshire, and the driver of the lorry, a man in his 50s, was rushed to hospital after initially being trapped in the vehicle’s cab.
A goods lorry from food wholesaler Brakes smashed into a pensioner’s Grade II-listed thatched cottage this morning, just 6ft from where he was sitting
Paul Hammond, 69, was typing on his computer at 6.30am when the lorry veered off the road and ploughed straight into his four-bedroom, 15th century house in Breamore, Hampshire
Retired project manager Mr Hammond, who has lived in the £565,000 cottage for five years with his wife Gaynor Hammond, 66, said if the lorry was moved, the roof of his house would fall down
The crash, which happened when the HGV careered off the A338, also saw a neighbouring bus stop wiped out.
Mr Hammond, who has lived in the £565,000 cottage for five years with his wife Gaynor Hammond, 66, said if the lorry was moved, the roof of his house would fall down.
He said: ‘I was working on my computer at about 6.30 this morning when I hear this strange grinding sound and the house started to shake.
The driver of the lorry, a man in his 50s, was rushed to hospital after initially being trapped in the vehicle’s cab. The crash, which happened when the HGV careered off the A338, also saw a neighbouring bus stop wiped out
Brakes was founded by the grandfather of Charlie Brake (pictured), a contestant on reality TV show Love Island
‘The next thing I know, there was debris flying into the hallway. I looked outside and there was this lorry.
‘It was pretty dark and I couldn’t really see much at that point.
‘The lorry has taken out half of the side of the house. I just didn’t know what was happening.
‘My wife was in bed upstairs at the time, she was woken up by it. She thought it was a clap of thunder.
‘She’s a bit distressed about it at the moment.
‘It’s a listed building, and the oldest part dates back to the 15th century – that’s the part the lorry hit.
‘The remainder of the house is OK. The lorry took out a big chunk of the thatched bus stop next door too.
‘The lorry is still in place at the moment – it’s holding up one side of my house.
‘I think we will have to move out. It’s going to be a lot of work fixing the house and it’s going to take a lot of time.’
Brakes was founded by the grandfather of Charlie Brake – a contestant on reality TV show Love Island, which sees young singles go to Majorca for romance and the chance of winning £50,000.
Charlie’s grandfather and his two business partners sold the business in 2002 for £434million. In 2016, the food distributor company was taken over by US firm Sysco in a £2.2billion deal.