Skip to content

Man 'very cross' after lorry hits 400-year-old home

Luke Deal,in Burghand
Alice Cunningham,Suffolk
News imageLuke Deal/BBC A man standing in the doorway of his home. He has grey hair and wears a grey jumper with a dark T-shirt underneath. He rests one arm on the wall of the entrance. Luke Deal/BBC
Colin Watson says lorries have caused "lots of trouble" trying to fit down the lane

A man whose 400-year-old house was damaged by a lorry said he was left "very cross".

Colin Watson, who lives at the bottom of Mill Hill in Burgh, Suffolk, heard a vehicle crash into the property on Monday at about 09:00 BST.

He found that a HGV had hit the scaffolding on his home, causing a large section of plaster to fall off the building's exterior.

Watson said he had had "lots of trouble" with lorries coming down the lane, despite signs stating the road was not suitable for large vehicles.

News imageLuke Deal/BBC The side of a white home where scaffolding has been erected and plaster from the building wall has fallen on to the ground. Luke Deal/BBC
Plaster on the home's exterior was knocked off after scaffolding was hit by the vehicle

"I heard a revving of a lorry and just as I was going outside to look, I heard a crash," he explained.

"I noticed that the scaffolding, which had been erected for some roof repairs, had been knocked down and a corner of my house had been knocked down as well.

"I was very cross."

News imageSimon White A lorry stationary on a village road. There is a brick wall that has been knocked over. Simon White
The residents say there are signs on the road warning it is not suitable for HGVs

Watson said he was worried for the structure of the property and how he would repair it.

"There's a piece of wood hanging out of it which looks like it's 400 years old," he continued.

"It's been smashed to pieces so we're going to have to get specialist repairs.

"Fortunately it's not a listed house, but it is something which I think we need to take care of."

Watson had said the lorry driver had been "very upset" and he understood that "people made mistakes".

News imageLuke Deal/BBC A man standing outside in a village. He has short grey hair, a grey beard and is wearing glasses, a chequered shirt and brown gilet jumper. Luke Deal/BBC
Simon White's wall at the entrance of his property was damaged

Simon White lives opposite and suffered a damaged wall after the lorry also hit it.

"It's good no one was hurt... we're really lucky," he said.

"Thankfully there weren't any children around or anyone on a bike who could have got more hurt."

He added: "Once you're committed down a little lane like this, it's a big commitment to have to reverse back up the hill without anyone guiding you.

"He probably tried to get himself out of a pickle and just got himself deeper in unfortunately."

News imageContributed Tim Wray smiles at the camera in front of a white HGV lorry. He has short grey hair and wears a black jumper with his hands resting in one another in front of him.Contributed
Tim Wray believed some drivers relied too much on sat navs when driving in rural areas

Tim Wray, vice-chair of the Road Haulage Association and managing director of Felixstowe haulier Multimodal Logistics, believed some drivers relied too much on satellite navigation, but incidents like this were "rare".

"In my business I make a point of making sure that we only use track satnavs as opposed to regular ones you would use in your car," he said.

He added: "I'm very sympathetic to [the driver] and I understand the frustration with it.

"We'd all be the same if it was our property... I would implore every operator to check their drivers have the right equipment and they are following the right advice when on the road."

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Stories like this