Burnley mum evacuated from home and left ‘shaking’ after early hours car crash causes gas leak

Police are investigating after two cars collided on the junction between Brennand Street and Briercliffe Road around 12-35am.

Kirsty Harper says a white vehicle hit a black car, which then crashed into Brunlea Estate Agents below her flat in Briercliffe Road and burst a gas pipe in the business premises.

Kirsty said: "I was sat watching TV with my son and was about to tell him to go to bed when we heard a loud bang and the whole flat shook. It was scary and I was shaking.

"I went down to see what was going on and rang my landlord, whose office is downstairs. The black car had rubble from the building on it and the white car’s bumper had come off.”

Kirsty says the second vehicle hit the shop with such force that the flat “shook”, causing extensive structural damage.

She added: "About a minute later, there was a strong smell of gas in the flat and we had to be evacuated. The car had hit the mains gas pipe downstairs and it got to the point where we could smell it from the shop across the road. It was very strong.

"A fire engine and the police came – there was plenty of police about. They had to shut the junction from the end of Queen Victoria Road to the end of Brennand Street.

"We’re back in the house now but we can’t use the front two rooms. My son can’t go in his bedroom as the window isn’t in place, and the flooring has dropped in two rooms. We don’t know how long it’s going to take [to be repaired].”

It is not the first incident in the area, according to Kirsty, who added: "Something needs to be done. When we came out of lockdown, we were sat in the beer garden down the road and heard a bang and saw a car toppling through the air. Just five minutes before that happened, my sister had taken my son home down that road.”