Canvey Haven Road lorry crash: beloved pet cat put down

The lorry – carrying a skip at the time – smashed into the home in Haven Road, Canvey, at roughly 9.30am yesterday morning. 

According to eye-witnesses, the driver was thrown from the vehicle as it joined Haven Road from Long Road. 

Structural engineers were called to determine if the vehicle can be safely removed (Image: George Pizani)
Major damage has been caused to the home and the family who live in the property will spend the next three days in a hotel as the home is assessed. 

A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving while unfit through drinks or drugs, driving without due care and attention and driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition. 

He has been released under investigation. 

The damage done to the living room was significant (Image: Matthew Doughty)
Lee Spiller, who lives at the home with his partner and her mother, was asleep upstairs at the time of impact before coming downstairs to find the vehicle lodged in the house and his cat, Austin, screeching in pain. 

The 32-year-old said: “ I came down to make a cup of tea and check for any post. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and looked up and saw a lorry.

“I thought I must be seeing stuff.”

Police established a cordon following the incident (Image: George Pizani)
After processing the extent of the destruction, Lee began searching for the family’s cat, Austin, which he could hear inside the rubble. 

Although the cat was rescued, it was later put down due to its injuries.

Lee’s partner, Emma Doughty and her mother, Julie Harper, had been working together at a nearby school when they received news of the incident.

Thankfully, there were no casualties involved in the incident (Image: George Pizani)
“Right now, my living room is in next door’s living room,” said Julie.

The 57-year-old explained that the family were waiting on a visit from structural engineers to determine if the skip lorry can be safely removed from the front of the property.

“Our management agents have got us three nights at a hotel and then we’ll take it one day at a time,” she said.

The residents claim that despite huge damage to their living room, the rest of the property has been virtually untouched.

An eyewitness to the collision reported seeing the skip lorry’s driver falling out of the vehicle’s cab just before the impact.

A spokesperson for the company who own the skip lorry, B W Rice, said: “Our main concern is that the people involved are all ok and that the police are doing their investigation”.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We are investigating and have made an arrest after a vehicle collided with a property in Canvey.

“It was reported a skip lorry had collided with a property, causing substantial damage.

“Thankfully no injuries were reported.”