Double decker bus crashes into house while family on holiday in Spain

A family enjoying a holiday in Spain have been told they are temporarily homeless - after a double decker bus crashed into their home.

The bus, which was out of service, reportedly rolled 120 metres down a hill and into their Harold Hill home after the bus driver allegedly left the handbrake off.

Natasha Ottley, 24, who lives at the house with her parents and two sisters, remained in England, and had to break the news to her parents abroad.

She had been alerted to the situation by a neighbour who phoned her at work.

Natasha, a customer services manager for an insurance company, told the Evening Standard that her parents were "devastated" and would remain on holiday in Spain for a while: "Unfortunately this is not the relaxing holiday my parents were hoping for. They are upset but there is not much they can do here," she said.

"I was going to have yesterday off and would have been in the house at the time of the crash - I had a lucky escape. Inside it is in ruins and totally unsafe."

The family now face six months in temporary accommodation.

Witnesses took pictures of the scene and uploaded them to Twitter.

One user wrote: "Only in Harold Hill would this happen."

According to ITV News, a neighbour said the driver had actually put on the handbrake but the bus still rolled away. He added that his twin daughters were almost run over, saying: "The driver was in a deep state of shock he was really upset. He said he had turned the ignition off and put the handbrake on and had got off and was talking to another driver when the bus started moving.

"My two 14-year-old twin daughters were walking just up to that house that was hit another few moments and they could have been killed - it was a lucky escape."

Transport for London has launched an investigation. Speaking to the Romford Recorder, Ken Davidson, the group's head of bus operations said: "There were no reported injuries and damage to the property is currently being assessed."

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