A mum watched in horror after a Ford Fiesta crashed through a West Sussex home on earlier this month, hitting the gas and electricity supply
A mother has described how her life was turned upside down in just three terrifying seconds when a car crashed through her home while she was watching TV with her children.
Paige Amber, 32, had been relaxing with her partner Joe, 40, and their children—including a 10-month-old infant—when a Ford Fiesta reportedly careered out of control and smashed into their Capthorne, West Sussex house on January 2, striking both the gas main and electricity supply.
She said the family’s sense of safety was “ripped away forever” in the instant of impact. Forced to evacuate immediately, they left all their possessions behind amid fears the building could collapse. The family has been living in a single, windowless Travelodge room ever since.
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Reflecting on the shocking ordeal, Paige said: “We had just finished eating a curry and at 7.25pm we heard and saw parts of my house fly across the room into pieces. It was just a loud bang and it literally sounded like a bomb had just gone off. The car, a bonnet of this Ford Fiesta, was in my house.
“My partner jumped up and ran outside. I was screaming, my 10-month-old was crying, he had just woken up from the bang, my daughter and her friend were in hysterics. And we are just seeing this massive hole in my house.”
The image of terror on her 10-year-old daughter’s face is permanently etched in Paige’s memory, the MEN reports. Speaking about the devastation, she said: “Our home, the place where my children should feel protected, was destroyed in seconds.”
While nobody was physically injured, the family remain displaced. Paige described their temporary accommodation as “an absolute nightmare. There is hardly any room, we are all in one box room all four of us. There are no windows and to leave my brand new home, I worked so hard to get that house so nice and how I wanted it, to leave that for this, is something I am never going to forget.”
Repairs to the house are projected to cost £30,000, with restoration potentially taking four months. Meanwhile, Paige said her youngest child was admitted to hospital with a chest infection last night, adding to her worries.
Paige has launched a GoFundMe to help cover essentials including clothing, food and short-term accommodation.
She explained: “It’s been really hard, I’m not going to lie. I feel like I have aged 10 years in the last two weeks. I have barely slept.
“I am just constantly thinking what the next move is, what I can do, how am I going to change the situation? I am massively struggling. One minute I am okay, then I am crying.
“Even sharing this page means more than you know.”
Sussex Police were approached for comment.
You can make a donation to the GoFundMe here
