A MOTHER has told of the horrific moment a runaway van smashed into her bungalow, knocking her toddler across the living room.

Tori Worms, 22, was watching TV with daughters Tulilah-Rose, three, and Tahlia-Eeau, 18 months, when the VW ploughed into their front window.

Moments before, Tahlia had been playing directly in front of the window but had got up to greet her great-grandmother Christine Best, 73, who had just walked into the room.

Ms Worms said: “It was horrific – the van came flying through the window, hitting the sofa which hit my daughter.

“If it had happened 30 seconds before, I would have lost my daughter.

“I grabbed my children and ran as the house was structurally damaged.

“We’re in a lot of emotional distress.”

The crash left piles of debris outside the family’s home and bricks strewn across the garden.

Their front room, which Ms Worms said the family had been working on for more than a year, has been left “completely destroyed”.

She said: “It feels like our world has come crashing down.

“We have to move out of our home for three months.

“My daughters are emotional and are now distressed whenever they hear a bang.

“My grandmother is very shaken.”

Ms Worms said she has gone with her children to stay at a family member’s house until Monday.

They will then be put into another property while the work is carried out.

The bungalow’s large front window was rammed into the building.

A witness said: “There was severe damage to the windows and surrounding brickwork.

“The fire brigade worked to remove damaged windows and brickwork.”

Another passerby said: “I’m surprised the house is still standing.

“The whole wall has been completely destroyed and there’s rubble everywhere.

“I just hope everyone is OK.”

The drama happened in Chiltington Way, Saltdean, yesterday morning. A Sussex Police spokesman said: “A van has gone through into the front of a bungalow and taken out the front wall and window.

“It looks as though the handbrake may have been loose as the van did not have a driver inside when it happened.

“It was first reported to us at 8.43am.”

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s Technical Rescue Unit was also called in.

“These are specialised teams which deal with incidents including structural building collapses.

A spokesman for the service said: “We were called at 8.47am to an incident in Chiltington Way, Saltdean.

“A van had gone into the front of a bungalow.

“We had firefighters from Roedean on the scene.

“Our Technical Rescue Unit was called as well because of possible structural instability.

“There was some damage to the corner of the bungalow.

“A building control officer was also called in.

“The building has been propped up by temporary supports. It was made structurally sound and our crews left the scene at 10.36am.”