Not again! was the thought of a shocked homeowner after two vehicles ploughed through their property in the space of just one week.

The incidents happened on a bad corner on the A444 in the tiny hamlet of Acresford near Donisthorpe and Overseal in May 1982.

The first incident on a Thursday morning involved a car carrying three people from the Tamworth area which ploughed through the dining room of Mick and Hazel Underwood after leaving the road.

All of the occupants of the vehicle escaped without serious injury.

Following this crash, the Underwood family, including their five-year-old son William, went to stay with family in Castle Bromwich for the weekend.

When they returned on Monday morning they found a cement tanker in their garden after the lorry had left the road and ploughed through a garage, which had purposely been built as a buffer in case such an accident occurred.

The lorry was driven by a man from Albert Village who was described as having a lucky escape after he was thrown through the windscreen of the truck cab suffering just minor cuts and bruises.

Eye witness Pamela Pizzey of Cricket Cottage said: I was in the bedroom at the time doing my hair and I heard this screeching. I shot to the window and saw the lorry screeching towards the fence.

Speaking in 1982, homeowner Mick Underwood, age 39, said: It has just about ruined us. My wife said she would certainly not return after Thursdays accident and she will never return now.

Im pleased in a way because it strengthens my case about the dangers of the corner. But I wont be coming back it would be like playing Russian roulette.

Following the incidents, villagers pressed for extensive road improvements on the bend to reduce the dangers.

Excerpt from:

Memories of 'Russian roulette' for family as lorry and car crashed into home - Burton Mail