Gas pipe fractured as van crashes through wall and into house
A woman was taken to hospital but nobody was seriously injured after a van crashed through a wall and ended up in a house.
A mother and child were inside the house in Northfield, Birmingham, when the van smashed through the wall and fractured a gas pipe just after 7am this morning.
Photos from the scene show the van embedded inside the property in Chatham Road after the crash.
The female driver of the van managed to climb out of the back of the van before emergency crews arrived. She was treated for minor injuries and taken to hospital.
Paramedics also treated a child who was inside the house with their mother but neither required hospital treatment.
Specialist firefighters were sent to the scene to make the area safe and a West Midlands Police spokesman confirmed the force is investigating the incident.
The road was expected to be closed for a number of hours on Monday while the suspected gas leak is assessed.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: "When crews arrived at the scene, they found a single van which was inside the property. The driver, a woman, had managed to self-extricate through the back door of the van.
“She was treated for minor injuries before being conveyed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for further treatment.
“Crews also treated a child, who was inside the property at the time of the collision, for minor injuries and they were discharged at the scene.”
A West Midlands Fire Service spokesman added: "We sent two crews to the scene, one from Kings Norton and one from Northfield. The first arrived at the scene within two minutes.
"The report from the ambulance service said that a vehicle had been in collision with a house and there were reports of injuries. We also deployed our Technical Rescue Unit to the scene.
"There was a fractured gas pipe in the house, so a gas engineer also attended. A structural engineer is also in attendance and we are working with them to assess how best and how safely to remove the vehicle from the building."
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We are investigating after a van went into a house on Chatham Road, Birmingham, just before 7.30am on Monday morning.
"A mother and child who were inside the house, have been treated for minor injuries and the driver of the van is assisting us with enquiries. The road is expected to be closed for a number of hours as a suspected gas leak is assessed."
Anyone with information is asked to call West Midlands Police on 101, quoting log number 637 of August 10.
