A couple and their two children are lucky to be alive after a van crashed into their living room.

The accident yesterday morning caused tens of thousands of pounds' worth of damage and has left the house in St Laurence Close, Telscombe Cliffs, structurally unsound.

The Bird family cannot now live in the house and police and safety officers were called to assess the damage.

At about 3am a taxi van hit a parked car and careered across a grass verge, straight into the family's living room.

Des Bird, 31, and his wife, Sam, 29, woke up daughters Amy, four, and Jessica, one, and took them to safety at a friend's house.

Mrs Bird said: "It was just a huge bang.

"I had just gone to bed. It sounded like an explosion.

"It was so lucky it didn't happen the morning before.

"Jessica had been playing up and I was looking after her in the lounge.

"I dread to think what would have happened if the crash had been just 24 hours earlier."

The Volkswagen van cannot be moved from the lounge in case the front of the terraced house, where the Birds have lived for ten years, falls down.

Mrs Bird, a housewife, added: "We've had a pretty miserable bank holiday.

"We were kept awake by a rave before and now this is going to cost a fortune."

She added: "I only redecorated the front room about three months ago.

"I always kept it nice and tidy. It's a disaster."

The van went straight through the living room to the edge of the kitchen but the driver was not injured.

The parked Peugeot 106 which the van hit was written off.

Mrs Bird added: "My husband is a heavy goods vehicle mechanic so he's used to coming into contact with lorries and vans.

"But this is one form of contact we'd like to avoid in future.

"Amy and Jessica are upset because they can't get to their toys, which were kept in the lounge. But at least everyone's safe and sound."

The children are staying with their grandparents while Mr and Mrs Bird make repair arrangements.

A police spokesman said: "Our inquiries into the incident are ongoing.

"There are structural engineers at the scene. The damage is under investigation."