'Miracle' escape for trio as van wedged against wall in Goonhavern

A DRIVER and two boys "miraculously" escaped unhurt after the van they were travelling in flipped and wedged itself against the side of an inn.

The vehicle, which had swerved to avoid another car, came to a 45 degree stop at the White House, near Goonhavern, on the A3075, at about 5.15pm on Saturday.

But inn owner Simon Hill said: "The driver was heading towards Goonhavern.

"We think he swerved to the left to avoid a car, hit the grass verge, ricocheted off and then caught the front end of another car.

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"He flipped straight over our Cornish hedge.

"They were all fine, which was a bit of a miracle. There was a bloke and two young lads in there. It looked like they had been surfing. Luckily they all had their seatbelts on.

"They seemed a bit shocked at where they ended up."

Seven of the inn's 12 rooms were due to be occupied that night but no one was in the room the van struck.

"It could have been very dangerous if there had been someone in that room," added Mr Hill. "They would certainly have got a shock."

He had been working behind the bar when one of his customers alerted him to the accident.

"I didn't expect to see a van stuck in our wall. It's not something you see every day, that's for sure," he added.

Paramedics checked those involved by the roadside. The driver of the other car, a Vauxhall Astra, was said to be shaken but uninjured.

Mr Hill did not have any general concerns about safety on that stretch of the A3075. "It's just one of those things," he said.

He has been in touch with his insurers over the damage to the inn.