“We just feel in limbo… you never think it would happen to you”

A family was forced to flee their home and move into a Travelodge with their two children after a car ploughed into their house in Edgeley.

Rik Hayes and partner Mel Mendoza were left shaken after the hatchback smashed into the front of their home, at the junction of Old Chapel Street and St Matthew’s Road, on Saturday night (December 14), leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

Following an assessment from the fire service, the devastated couple say they have now been forced to move into the nearby hotel with their two young children, who have special educational needs.

Rik, 41, claimed they were told the car still remains at the scene, with the wall deemed potentially unsafe.

They have been left ‘in limbo’ with no idea yet to when they can return.

“I’ve been in touch with the police again to get further information and I am still where I was on Sunday,” he said.

“The fire service said we had to get out due to the stability of the wall. We were basically told if anyone moves the car it could potentially fall and that they weren’t willing to put anybody’s life at risk.

“I’ve got no idea on what to do myself. We are still in the dark and still in limbo.”

Rik said the family chose to self-fund a stay at a local Travelodge, as emergency support from the council could mean they were temporarily placed further away, which would cause difficulties in getting their children to school.

“We have booked for a couple of days, and then may need a few more,” he said. “It’s the upheaval of moving the kids as they both have special educational needs.

Moving them even to a friend’s house on Saturday after the crash was a massive upheaval.

“We just feel in limbo and don’t know what’s happening. It’s the sort of thing you’d see in a newspaper that had happened in another city. You never think it would happen to you.”

Rik, who has lived in the house for seven years, was in the garden at the time of the collision, at around 9pm, when he heard a ‘huge crash’ and his partner

‘screaming’ from the upstairs bedroom.

“I came out and saw the second vehicle outside my front door. Then I realised a car was actually in the house. It literally left a gaping hole in the front. The front wall has all warped as well. The car has gone through into the room,” he said.

“As I came further down and saw the car through my wall I was shaking like anything; livid and scared. My partner was really scared she felt a huge vibration.”

His partner Mel has since set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to support them as they remain displaced from home. Donations can be made here.

The family have also since raised concerns about the dangers of the junction, with ‘lunatic’ drivers often crashing nearby.

Mel wrote: “The house shook from the impact. Luckily no one was inside the room which is a bedroom at the time. There’s a huge hole and the inside and side of the house is very badly cracked. It has been deemed unsafe for us to stay as the house could collapse. We have since been paying for a Travelodge.

“Local housing are suggesting we could be put in a hotel but moving weekly, and which we may not be able to take our two elderly indoor cats to. We have two young children with SEN and sensory issues, coping with change is really hard and our cats offer emotional support to all of us.

“We can’t afford to keep staying here and also we can’t cope with moving children who won’t cope on a weekly basis either.”

Rik said he has counted almost 20 crashes outside his home since first moving there, and now fears for the safety of his two young children. One collision saw a car hit a give way sign on the corner, which he said previously stopped the vehicle also being driven into his property.

He previously told the M.E.N: “I’ve got major worries. I have two young children who luckily don’t play out on the street, but loads of other children do. The way people drive around here is complete idiocy and lunacy.”

The fundraising page added: “It’s been a huge cause of anxiety because every speeding car we hear is a worry that it will crash into us. And now it’s happened and it’s almost Christmas and we can’t live in our house and we need help.”

Photos from the scene showed a large hole which has been smashed into the front of the property. A section of bricks has been pushed into the property at the point of impact.

Greater Manchester Police were approached for more details on the incident. It is not yet known if any arrests have been made.