CROWDS of schoolchildren had a narrow escape today after a runaway lorry careered past, and crashed into a house with the driver in hot pursuit.Shocked Maureen Slater, 52, heard what sounded like an explosion and arrived at the top of the stairs of her four bedroomed house, in Greyhound Road, Glemsford, to find the front wing of her Range Rover in the hallway, surrounded by shattered glass.

CROWDS of schoolchildren had a narrow escape today after a runaway lorry careered past, and crashed into a house with the driver in hot pursuit.

Shocked Maureen Slater, 52, heard what sounded like an explosion and arrived at the top of the stairs of her four bedroomed house, in Greyhound Road, Glemsford, to find the front wing of her Range Rover in the hallway, surrounded by shattered glass.

The black Range Rover had ended up sandwiched between the lorry and the house, at 8.10 this morning.

Police at the scene said the Tilford Transport lorry had been parked in Egremont Road when it started rolling into Greyhound Road. Investigations will be made to see if the handbrake failed.

Mrs Slater was at home with her husband, Philip, and son Liam, 27, who are both in the building trade, when the accident happened. She said: "It clipped a stone wall and narrowly missed 15-20 school children who were standing on the corner of our road, waiting for a bus to school. I was very shocked, but I was more worried about them."

She said the lorry driver chased after his vehicle and shouted but was powerless to do anything. The lorry came to rest against her Range Rover which was written off, and the wall of hallway was cracked by the impact. Mrs Slater said: "The same thing happened a year ago when a car rolled into next door's garage, from the same direction."