Removing the blue Vauxhall from the Leyton Drive property was like playing 'a game of Jenga' says firefighter

The driver was reversing off his drive when his car catapulted backwards and into the house in Leyton Drive, Bury.

Dramatic pictures show the car – a blue Vauxhall Insignia – hanging out of the front window of the house after it smashed through the porch.

The house, believed to be owned by an elderly man who lives alone, was unoccupied at the time of the crash at 9am yesterday.

A relative of the driver disputed reports that the man’s prosthetic leg had become stuck on the accelerator.

She said: “He did catch the accelerator but not with his false leg. The car is specially adapted for him.”

One resident, who lives opposite the house, said: “I was in bed and heard a terribly loud crash.”

Another resident, aged 33, said: “I heard screeching of tyres and thought it was boy racers at first. But then there was a much louder screech and then a big bang. I really don’t know how they are going to get it out without the house coming down.”

Police, fire crews and Bury Council’s building control team attended the incident. John Crompton, from building control for Bury Council, said: “We are conducting emergency work on the building to secure it.”

Fire crews from Bury, Broughton and a technical rescue unit from Ashton, were called to the scene after reports of a man trapped in a vehicle.

It is understood that the man, who did not suffer any injuries, had recently been fitted with a prosthetic limb which became stuck on the accelerator of his automatic car.

Fire watch manager Stephen Wilcock said: “The problem we had was how to get the man out of the car because it was supporting the house. If he had driven forward the house would have collapsed.

"It was like a game of Jenga because we didn’t know what we could move without the property falling down. We had to isolate the gas, water and electricity and then use props to support the car before we could get him out.”