WORRIED residents today called for improvements to a stretch of the A12 after the same house was hit twice in the same day by out of control cars.Buttercup Cottage at the side of the A12 near Stratford St Mary was first damaged when a blue Ford Mondeo spun out of control in heavy rain and careered into its front room at 6.

WORRIED residents today called for improvements to a stretch of the A12 after the same house was hit twice in the same day by out of control cars.

Buttercup Cottage at the side of the A12 near Stratford St Mary was first damaged when a blue Ford Mondeo spun out of control in heavy rain and careered into its front room at 6.30am yesterday.

As builders worked to shore up the crumpled structure, a Toyota Lucida people carrier lost control on the same stretch of road at 1.40pm and crashed into the builder's truck. It ended up in the cottage's front garden, narrowly missing one of the builders.

Ann Burgess, who lives in the house with her husband William, was left stunned by the two accidents.

She said: “When I heard the second accident I thought the damaged wall had fallen down on the builders.

“Someone could have been killed but nobody has been hurt, not so much as a bruise. It's a miracle.”

Mrs Burgess and her neighbours warned the road posed a danger after the Mondeo driver Ashley Foxhall from Capel walked away uninjured after the first crash. But after the second accident they said improvements had to be made to protect their houses.

Builder Terry Eagle, who lives in the stretch of houses between Cutlers Lane and Woodgate Road, had been called in by Babergh District Council to shore up Mrs Burgess' property after the first crash. He was in his truck when the Toyota crashed into it.

Mr Eagle said: “When we first moved here 24 years ago the road was nowhere near as busy as this.

“I think they should try and slow it down because it's a blind hill.”

His wife, Paula Eagle, heard the Mondeo crash through her front fence yesterday morning. She said: “Not only property but lives have been put seriously at risk. We've seen a massive increase in usage of the road. It's just so frightening.”

Builder Eddie Hall, 54, from Hockley in Essex, was the driver of the Toyota involved in the second crash.

He said: “The water that was coming down was just like a river. It was just like hitting a sheet of ice.

“We were really lucky, the car could have turned over. One of the builders could have been at the back of the lorry.”

The Highways Agency today said it was investigating yesterday's accidents.