Elderly couple rescued after Royal Mail lorry crashes into house

An elderly couple became trapped upstairs in their home in Brockhurst Road, Gosport after a Royal Mail lorry crashed into it.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 5.47am today after the incident involving the 7.5 tonne lorry occurred and firefighters had to rescue the couple.

A fire service spokeswoman said: "The lorry crashed into the property cutting off the staircase leaving two people trapped upstairs in the house.

"Firefighters used an aerial ladder platform to rescue the people from the first floor of the house."

Officer in charge Paul Coates said: "Our crews were on scene quickly and worked hard to reassure and rescue the two people who were trapped on the first floor of the property."

A Hampshire police spokeswoman confirmed that the lorry driver and the occupants of the house were uninjured.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service's Urban Search and Rescue team were called to the scene to assess structural damage to the property. The house and neighbouring properties were evacuated.

The police spokeswoman said the couple, in their 60s, had gone to stay with friends while the damage was assessed.

She added that the road remained closed while the structural engineers examine the property.

Resident Anne Wiles told the BBC: "My husband jumped out of bed - went on to the landing and there was a big gaping hole and the front of a lorry.

"We were really, really shook up. My husband broke down because he was going to get up 10 minutes before it happened."


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