Electric MG ZS car had 'mind of its own' as brakes 'failed' in Lancing

Owners Mark and Elaine Gretton have been left with a £5,000 bill to fix the damage after their MG ZS EV ploughed into the kitchen wall.

The couple, from Lancing, said they were planning to drive to London in the £30,000 car that day but had a change of plan.

They said it “doesn’t bear thinking” about a similar failure happening when they were on the M25.

The ordeal, which happened at about 4pm last Friday, October 20, comes amid reports of MG ZS models in other parts of the country having brake failures.

The damage to the front of the house. It also burst a radiator on the other side (Image: Supplied)

Mark, 56, said: “My wife was coming home from swimming and was going on to the driveway as normal. The car just didn’t stop. It ploughed straight into the house

“She was shaken up about it and there was £5,000 worth of damage to the house.

"A radiator was smashed so there was water everywhere and the gas box was hit so we didn’t know if we had a gas leak.

“We spoke to MG. It has affected my wife’s mental wellbeing and she doesn’t want to drive an electric car again.

“We were actually going to Wembley on Friday and were going to take her car but there was a change of venue for the boxing and she didn’t want to go so I went in my own car.

The damage to the car (Image: Supplied)

“We could have potentially been on the M25 doing 70mph. It doesn’t bear thinking about. The damage is irrelevant.

“It has an anti-crash system so why didn’t that work? It had a mind of its own. She has parked on the drive a million times. It just ploughed into the house."

Mark said Elaine, 54, has never had a driving conviction or points on her licence.

Mark and Elaine were going to drive to London the day of the incident (Image: Supplied)

Earlier this month, a motorist near Glasgow had to call emergency services while driving because his MG ZS would not stop. He was escorted by police convoy and had to bump into a police van to stop the vehicle.

A spokeswoman for MG said: “MG Motor UK have already been in contact with Mr and Mrs Gretton, requesting that we review the vehicle as soon as possible.

“Until we have had the opportunity to inspect the vehicle no further comments can be made. However, we treat any incident like this very seriously and will investigate the matter fully."