Lorry smashes into 14 parked cars in Copers Cope Road, Beckenham (From News Shopper)

Lorry smashes into 14 parked cars in Copers Cope Road, Beckenham

5:11pm Tuesday 8th January 2013 in News By Patrick Grafton-Green

AN ESTIMATED £130,000 worth of damage was caused when the trailer of a lorry smashed into 14 parked cars - tearing them to pieces like a "tin opener".

The accident in Copers Cope Road, Beckenham, last Thursday left many vehicles damaged including, ironically, cars being repaired by dealers Masters Citroen.

The smash occurred when an axle on the trailer, itself carrying a vehicle, twisted on a metal bollard as the lorry turned into the road.

This caused the trailer to veer off at an angle, smashing into a car.

The seemingly unaware driver, from Kent-based company D Andrews Haulage Ltd, continued to drive for 400 yards taking out a further 13 vehicles.

Fortunately no one was injured.

Masters Citroen service manager Paul Egan said: "We saw the lorry coming past our office and we all ran out and chased it.

"It carried on going, hitting all these cars and ended up hitting a lamp post. It was like World War III."

Of the damaged vehicles, five were Masters Citroen customer cars, two were staff vehicles and one was a courtesy car.

The others belonged to nearby residents.

A number of cars were written off, including a Ford Galaxy owned by Masters Citroen employee David Kerslake, 53.

He said: "I was in my cleaning bay when the lorry came past. I ran after it, shouting for it to stop.

"Eventually it came to a stop but not before it wrote off my car.

"People couldn't believe it. It was like a James Bond film.

"Everybody's who's seen it has said it's lucky no one was killed.

"At the end of the day I'm without a car and probably out of pocket.

"It's like a tin opener's gone straight through it. There are a lot of angry people."

A Bromley police spokesman said: "We were called at 4.46pm on January 3.

"Apparently the lorry had struck parked cars as it tried to negotiate the corner, causing damage to all the vehicles.

"Thankfully no-one was injured."

D Andrews Haulage Ltd has refused to comment on the incident.