Essex family 'living in fear' after a car smashes into their house for a third time

  • Watch footage of the car smashing into Laura Lines' home


A family said they were "fearing for their lives" after a driver smashed their car into their house - the third serious crash since they moved in.

Security footage shows the moment a car skidded on ice and crashed right through the garden fence on Thursday, narrowly avoiding their dogs that were in the yard.

The crash was the third time that the Lines family home in Crooked Mile in Nazeing has been hit by different drivers since they bought the house 10 years ago.

The most serious incident happened in October, when a car smashed right through the wall and into the family's living room.

Laura Lines with her husband, Daniel and one of their daughters Credit: BPM Media

Mum Laura Lines has now launched a petition calling for speed cameras to be installed to keep her and her husband Daniel and their two daughters safe.

Mrs Lines said that after the severity of the second crash in October, she knew something needed to be done.

She said: "Thankfully we were all in bed and none of us were injured or physically hurt.

"On a normal evening, we would have probably still been in the kitchen either chilling out on the sofas or pottering about.

"In fact, just 30 minutes beforehand I was sitting on the sofa with my nine-year-old daughter. We could have been badly injured or worse. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

"I now have a daughter who is constantly on edge and says she doesn’t feel safe and she will not be in any room in the house by herself - she has to be with someone in order to relax."

Some of the damage caused by a car driving into the Lines's home Credit: BPM Media

"There was a lot of structural and internal damage, also to furniture. "This is a home that we have taken a lot of pride in, time and money to get just how we wanted it."

The scene of one of the three crashes at the Lines's family home Credit: BPM Media

Kaywan Anwar, 45, of Stoneleigh Close, Waltham Cross was arrested after the crash on 30 October.

At Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on 5 December, he was banned from driving for three years, given 300 hours of unpaid work, and told to pay £219 of costs and surcharges.

The speed limit outside the Lines' home is currently 60mph.

Mrs Lines said the road was dangerous, and that there had been several fatal crashes over the past decade.

"It is so traumatic. In October, I was lying in bed above where it hit the house so I felt the impact.

"We heard the screech and instantly as soon as I felt it, I knew it had hit the house. I looked at the CCTV cameras and ran downstairs without thinking as the adrenaline kicked in.

"I couldn't open the door between my lounge and my kitchen it was jammed because it shunted the whole house.

"I managed to get in - I jumped over the rubble barefoot because I've got my dog sleeping in the kitchen.

"I checked that the kids were okay and then just broke down. It's like something out of a film. I looked and there was half of my wall missing and a car in my kitchen."

The family home was ruined in a crash in October Credit: BPM Media

"How many more lives have got to be lost or properties damaged before they make any change?" she asked.

A spokesperson for Essex Highways said: "The best way [for Mrs Lines] to take this forward is by speaking to your local county councillor and if they support your request.

"They can put it through to the Local Highway Panel who can assess whether there are any suitable speed reduction methods that can be introduced. Laura can include the petition as part of the supporting information."


It was one of the biggest news stories of our time - and it's still not over. So what did Boris Johnson know about Downing Street’s notorious parties? With fresh revelations from our Number 10 sources, in their own words, listen to the inside story...