By David LennardA TEENAGE girl has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving following an accident when a car went across a garden and crashed into a cottage.

By David Lennard

A TEENAGE girl has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving following an accident when a car went across a garden and crashed into a cottage.

The accident happened in The Street, Brampton, shortly after 1am on Sunday while Colin Garwood, 72, and his wife Margaret were asleep in their cottage.

A Vauxhall Astra left the road and collided with their cottage. The driver of the car was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to the James Paget Hospital, Gorleston, for after treatment.

A spokeswoman for Halesworth traffic police said: “A 17-year-old local woman has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving following a collision at Brampton.

“A Vauxhall Astra collided with a cottage in The Street. The 17-year-old has been bailed to return to Lowestoft police station.”

Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Garwood were still trying yesterday to come to terms with the incident.

“It was a real shock on Sunday when the crash happened, but since then everyone has been so kind to us,” said Mrs Garwood.

“Looking at the damage to the car and to our home, it is very fortunate that no-one was seriously hurt.”

It was a delicate operation to remove the car from the side of the cottage and then structural engineers had to make the property safe.

Mr Garwood said: “People were working most of the day on Sunday, but we are able to stay here and it is now a question of waiting for the insurance assessors to arrive.

“We believe it will cost thousands of pounds to repair the property as we have been told the complete gable end may need replacing.”

The historic village pump that stood in the garden of the cottage was also destroyed in the incident.

david.lennard@eadt.co.uk