VIDEO: Two visiting rugby enthusiasts dragged an elderly woman driver from her car which crashed into a house in Dartmouth today.

At approximately 10.45am in Dartmouth, Churchfields, an automatic, Land Rover Freelander driven by an elderly woman, ploughed through a garden wall, down a garden bank and launched itself at the house beyond causing damage to the roof, walls and windows.

Ollie Burrage, 17 years old, visiting relatives across the street from the scene of the accident, took up the story: “We [Ollie and his father, Julian] were just working in the garden, when we heard this huge bang. We ran down the road and saw that a car had run down the bank. We broke open the [car driver’s] door and we pulled the lady out, gently, lifting and carrying her out.

“We put her down gently around the front of the house. We asked a few questions to see if she was concussed but she was just scratched around her face, that’s all.”

Ollie and his father are on holiday. They live in Bath. Julian played for Bath RFC and Ollie is still playing, having played for various teams as he has grown up. Julian said: “We have been trained to look for concussion from head injuries in rugby. We used what we were taught to assess the woman driver.”

The driver of the vehicle received attention at the scene from South West Ambulance. She had no apparent serious injuries. Although marked by the seat belt and scratches to her face, she did not go to hospital.

Ed Moore who lives in the house that was struck by the car, returned home to the damage, about 90 minutes after the incident. He had received no notice of the accident which had left the eaves of his house shattered and a gaping hole above the broken bedroom window. The tiles on roof around the hole created by the car, were missing. Those on the face of the wall impacted by the roof, were damaged as the car slide down the wall. The car rested on its nose between a short retaining wall and a large broken, downstairs window.

One of the neighbours who did not wish to be identified said: “I heard the big bang and the woman screaming. My legs were trembling.” Despite the noise of the impact and the screaming of the driver after the accident, Ed Moore’s adjoining neighbour, Robin Dodson, did not initially realise what had happened. He commented: “When I looked out of the back window, I couldn’t see anything. I needed to lean forward and look to my left and it wasn’t until I saw a crowd up here looking down that I pulled the blinds and I could see it. I heard a hell of a bang but not really the woman screaming.”

PC Lee Richardson at the scene did not know the cause of the accident. The fire crew at the scene said that: “There was no fire in the house and luckily no-one at home. We thought perhaps there was fire in the car but it was dust from the air bag.”

The fire crew, fire engine and PC Lee Richardson remained at the scene while a towing vehicle was utilised to recover the car.