A man has told of his horror as a lorry ploughed into his house moments after he left the room.

Ben Woodwards, 36, had just eaten his lunch in his lounge.

He got up and went to the kitchen and then heard a thunderous crash behind him.

The lorry had crashed straight into his house, shattering the wall and leaving his lounge covered with in rubble and dust.

The crash also destroyed a boiler, electrics and the kitchen. The front of the van was heavily damaged.

The white Mercedes Sprinter van was parked and left unattended in Bristol Gate, it rolled down a hill into Eastern Road where it crashed into a blue Toyota Yaris before ploughing into the house. 

The Toyota driver, a 63-year-old woman from Brighton, sustained minor injuries but did not go to the hospital. No other injuries were reported.

Three police cars, three fire engines and ambulance crews were called to the scene in Sudeley Place, Kemp Town, Brighton, at 2.30pm yesterday.

Buses heading to Eastern Road were diverted and one lane was partially blocked.

Mr Woodwards said: “I am just lucky to be alive. If I had stayed in the lounge any longer, I would have been squished.

“I also have two cats in the house. Naturally they were terrified but they are OK. I had to move them upstairs.

“I was told by emergency services the lorry was unmanned and the handbrake was faulty.

“I have lived here for 18 months, this is usually a quiet road even though we’re close to the hospital.

“I called my wife immediately because I was just so shocked I didn’t know what to do.

“Employees from a construction company across the road came over and they called the police.

“Fire services came and set up metal poles to make the house safe before removing the lorry. Then they will board up the hole.

“They cleared all the rubble and put it in our back garden.”

Ken Nichol, 51, from Whitehawk, said: “I was on my way home when I saw this.

“The lorry must have been parked on the hill in Bristol Gate and rolled downhill and smashed into the house.”

Paul Colfer, a staff member from UK Power Networks, said: “We were called to the property to make sure the gas and electricity supply were safe.

“They were all OK. If they were not safe, we need to disconnect the power before the fire service can start removing the lorry.”

A Laing O’Rourke staff member, who was doing works across the road, said: “We made room on our site for fire services to park their engines so they could make necessary preparations before pulling out the vehicle.

A spokeswoman from East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: “The truck was removed from the building at 5.22pm and it has been made safe.

“The incident was handed over to our building control team.”

Police believe the handbrake of the van had failed.