"IT was like an explosion."
On Wednesday afternoon, Maggie Butcher was absent-mindedly heading towards her front door when a lorry laden with tonnes of scrap metal overturned, smashing into the front of her house.
Now, in an interview with the Bridgwater Mercury, Miss Butcher, 72, has called on the authorities to act to slow the passing traffic before she is killed.
The crash - which Miss Butcher says is the third time a lorry has overturned on the stretch - happened on the A39 Bath Road in Bawdrip, close to the Knowle Inn, at 3.20pm on March 29 and destroyed Miss Butcher's garage and front room, leaving the home structurally unsound.
However due to her love for her animals, Maggie has refused to move out and is currently living in the back part of the house.
"If they give me a bed and breakfast where I can take my eight dogs and 17 chickens, fine, but if not I am not leaving," she said.
Miss Butcher recalled she had just got back from shopping when the crash happened.
"I had just got back and unloaded. I made a cup of tea and went and let the dogs out.
"I was heading toward the front door and it was like an explosion, I cannot believe how close it was – if I had not have let the dogs out minutes earlier they would have died.
"I was in shock for a few minutes, by the time I picked up the phone to dial 999 I could hear a siren outside.
"I could not get out the front way and so I did not see the damage until a bit later. I think it was 4am by the time they managed to remove the lorry.
"When I did see the damage I was just numb, I had a little weep. There are family photographs and paperwork that mean a lot to me in that part of the house."
Miss Butcher said she had only recently had new windows installed and had purchased her new car just the week before, both of which were destroyed in the crash.
"I do not have the money for a new car. It will probably take what, a year until it can all be sorted?" she said.
Her neighbours have been stepping in to help out while Maggie tries to find some normality.
UPDATE: Witnesses sought to help Bawdrip crash investigation
"The neighbours have been very kind though, next door supplied a power lead so I could boil my kettle and brought me over some lunch today, and a chap a few doors up came over and asked if there was anything he could do even though I don’t really know him," she said.
Miss Butcher had a lucky escape when another scrap metal lorry overturned slightly further up the road in 2011.
"It has narrowly missed before – I was in the garden and had to throw myself down the slope to avoid being hit by the cargo," she said.
"If there is a fatality maybe they will do something. The speed limit could be reduced and cameras need to be put in so it can be enforced – it is no good at the top of the hill.
"My sister says I should move but I love it here, it is my home.
"I have land which suits my animals and great views of the countryside – why I should I move because of maniac drivers?"
The lorry driver was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital with minor injuries and police are still carrying out enquiries into the incident.
A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: “We are always very sorry to hear about serious incidents on our roads and use injury collision data to prioritise safety improvements, however we would not wish to speculate about what caused this crash until all the facts are known. The road currently has a 40mph speed limit.
"If there are ongoing problems with vehicles exceeding the speed limit or calls for greater speed enforcement then this would be a matter for the police as only they have powers to carry this out.”
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