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Two hurt after car crashes into gas main trench

Alice Cunningham
BBC News, Suffolk
Andrew Turner
BBC News, Suffolk
Reporting fromCorton Road, Lowestoft
Andrew Turner/BBC A Land Rover vehicle with its front stuck in a trench in the ground. Its bonnet and front lights have been damaged. Plastic fences that had been in place around the trench have been damaged and pushed over during the collision.Andrew Turner/BBC
Corton Road in Lowestoft has been closed after a collision led to a vehicle falling into a gas main trench

Two people have been injured after a collision led to a car falling into a gas main trench.

The emergency services were called to Corton Road in Lowestoft, Suffolk, to reports of a two-vehicle crash at 07:45 BST, before the road reopened at about midday.

One of the cars involved crashed into a trench that had been dug out for gas main work. The gas company Cadent said it was aware and that no mains pipelines had been ruptured.

Jane Platt, 60, of nearby Gunton Drive, said she heard "an enormous crash".

Andrew Turner/BBC A wider view of the collision. White paint can be seen covered all over the Land Rover windshield. Another damaged car can be seen nearby.Andrew Turner/BBC
Two vehicles were involved in the collision, according to police

"I went back into the bedroom, I thought a wardrobe had fallen on to my husband or something and he was absolutely fine," she said.

"A little while later he went out and phoned me up to say go to the end of the road and look, and you'll see what the crash was."

The car that crashed into the trench was damaged further when a paint can inside burst open during the collision.

White paint could be seen all over the interior of the vehicle.

Andrew Turner/BBC Another angle of the Land Rover crashed in the gas mains trench. Works in high-vis clothing stand nearby in discussion.Andrew Turner/BBC
Cadent had been doing work on gas mains in the area prior to the collision
Andrew Turner/BBC Geoff and Jane May smile at the camera as they rest over their wall in front of their house. Jane has shoulder length grey and blonde hair and wears a grey vest and Geoff has short grey hair and wears a grey T-shirt.Andrew Turner/BBC
Geoff and Jane May said their dog initially alerted them to the collision

Geoff May, 68, and his wife Jane May, 60, also both live on Gunton Drive.

"Our dog reacted to the crash and we just thought it was the lorries turning up to start work there," Mr May said.

"It was another half an hour before we looked out the window and saw all the commotion."

Mrs May added: "It is a sight, you've got to see it to believe it really."

The ambulance and fire service were also called to the scene.

The road remained closed while recovery of the vehicles involved was ongoing.

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