'Cars have crashed into our home four times in a year - we are living in fear'

A family said they are living in constant fear after cars keep crashing into the front of their home. They say that the road leading up to their house turns into a "racetrack" at night, but nobody seems to be listening to their concerns.

Since January 2024, four cars have crashed into their home - and three of these incidents have happened since September. Emma Howells, who has lived at her home on Oxford Street in Maerdy, Rhondda for nearly nine years, says she lays awake at night listening to the rev of engines waiting for a bang to follow when it crashes into them once more.

On Wednesday evening (March 26), a Mercedes A-Class smashed into their front window, causing the worst damage yet and turning their front room into a pile of rubble. That room used to be Emma's son's bedroom before he moved out and is now used as an office space by her husband. They think somebody would have been killed if they had been in there when the car struck.

Emma's husband Martin said: "Within three foot of where that car struck, that’s where my desk was. If I’d have been there at that time, I’d be dead."

Days after the crash, Emma and her husband are exhausted, going through a cycle they have already been through three times already. They are waiting for structural engineers to come out and assess the damage, and have been left without gas, unable to heat their home or cook their own meals for the second time.

One of them has to be awake at all times because their property is not secured. There are cracks going up the walls, which they say are growing. Their son has been sleeping at his grandparents' home because his bedroom is above the front room that suffered the brunt of the damage. "I don't want the upstairs to come downstairs," said Emma. "I think they're going to make us move out because it's not structurally safe."

Over the last year, two of their cars have been written off, they have endured sleepless nights and the front of their house has only been fixed for a week before a car smashed into it, causing carnage once again. Get the latest Rhondda news first by signing up to our newsletter here

She says people come racing over Aberdare mountain into Maerdy, before going around the tight bend her house sits on too quickly. "They’re speeding up the hill - we hear them every single night of the week. Now I lay in bed and hear an engine rev and all I can think is 'Is this going in the front now?' I just worry until I can hear that it's gone further up the hill."

Her husband Martin agrees: "They come down off that mountain, absolutely hammering it. It's a very bad bend and the first thing they see when they come around is our house and they plough straight into it."

The family have lived at the house on Oxford Street for nearly nine years, unaware of any problem until the first car hit their house in January 2024. Their youngest son who still lives at home, had just passed his driving test and got his first car when a car came careering around the bend and smashed into it, pushing it into the house.

While cars had crashed nearby late at night before and they often heard the rev of engines, Emma and her husband were shocked that a car had hit them. However, after the first crash they were told that the house had probably been hit 10 times previously.

Having lived there for seven years however, Emma says they put this crash down to "just one of those things" and tried to move on and accept the money they had to fork out to get a new car and fix the damage, and accepted that their house insurance had increased slightly as a result of the incident. However, just a week after the damage was fixed, another car crashed into Oxford Street in September 2024.

This time there was no car to shield the home from damage, with the car collided straight into the front window. A 19-year-old man from Porth was arrested on suspcion of six driving offences in relation to this collision and has been bailed for further enquiries.

Emma said, "The first time it happened, we didn't really feel the impact on our lives. We just thought it's happened, it's never happened before but after the second time, it felt like 'this is going to happen again'."

Then just over a month later in November, laying in bed, Emma was woken up by the familiar rev of a car engine before a loud bang and the now-recognisable flash of blue lights on the street. This time, Martin's car was written off and again, there was damage to the front of the house.

However, the worst crash came last week. "Every time this has happened we have been in bed and been woken up through horrendous banging but this time we were sitting here five to ten in the night watching the end of an episode and it sounded like a bomb had dropped on our house," Emma said.

Martin added, "The crashes previously sounded like a wardrobe had fallen over - this time the house shook - we thought there had been an explosion." As well as the pile of rubble that now stands in that room and the cracks up the wall, for the second time, the crash damaged their gas main so gas started to leak into the house.

After this final incident, Emma said the family have had enough of the crashes ruining their life and want to move house. She said that while she is grateful that they haven't been hurt, the impact it has had on them as a family should not be underestimated.

"We constantly worry as we have been in bed every time a crash has happened. Me and my husband both work full-time and we have had to take time off to try and deal with it - waiting for people to come and assess the damage or organising meetings and making phone calls to try and sort it out," Emma said. They have also spent around £20,000 on cars as a result of the collisions.

Following every crash, they have contacted Rhondda Cynon Taf Council calling for traffic calming measures to be implemented. However, Emma says these calls have been ignored, leaving the family to feel vulnerable in their own home. While she still wants traffic-calming measures and barriers to be introduced, she says the love of her home has been completely destroyed and she won't feel safe there again which is why they are considering moving.

She said, "What I would really like is for the council to admit some fault and acknowledge that something should have been done sooner. They've pushed us from pillar to post and to my knowledge, have never come out here to look at it. They have ruined my resale value and they have my feeling of safety in my own home. Surely they are liable for that?"

The council, in a letter written to the homeowners after the third collision, said that they have been informed by police that the crashes have been down to driver error and that the "layout or condition of the highway was not considered to be a contributing factor". However, they say they will now be looking into this issue as a "priority", describing the frequency of collisions at this location as "concerning".

As the last crash happened at 9.50pm on a weeknight, Emma and Martin said there "could have easily been a pedestrian walking past". A member of the community has set up a petition calling for traffic calming measures to slow drivers down as well as a barrier to protect the house on the corner of Oxford Street.

A spokesperson for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: "The council is actively looking into this matter as a priority issue and, as part of the process to determine whether any changes are required to the highway, it is reviewing the cause of the recent collisions that have occurred. Officers have been working in partnership with South Wales Police to better understand why such one-vehicle and damage-only collisions are occurring at this location.

"This standard process is essential to help us understand the issue before an appropriate solution is identified. It should be noted that the council holds no powers to deal with instances of dangerous driving or to enforce moving-type traffic offences.

"This responsibility falls with the police. Nevertheless, the frequency at which such collisions have occurred at this location is concerning, and our investigations will continue with the aim of providing positive road safety improvements at Station Road at the earliest opportunity.

"The council empathises with the resident whose property has been significantly damaged, and officers have written to them to explain the ongoing process. Once investigations are complete, officers will be back in touch with all parties concerned to advise on what measures are proposed and the timescale for delivery."

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: "South Wales Police was called just before 9.55pm on Wednesday, March 26, with a report that a driver of a Mercedes A-Class had collided with a property on Oxford Street, Maerdy. The 19-year-old male driver has been reported for driving without due care and attention.

"In relation to the incident in September a 19-year-old man from Porth has been arrested on suspicion of six driving offences and has been bailed for further enquiries."