A GRANDMOTHER has told of her shock – after a police van crashed into her home.

Carol Hanson was sitting in the front room of the house on Leigh Close in Tottington when she saw the vehicle rolling towards the building.

The 66-year-old, who did not suffer any injuries, said: "I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, one minute I was watching television and the next thing this van was coming towards me. There was a massive bang when it hit."

The van was parked for 30 minutes in the turning circle of the close before it rolled down the sloped garden causing significant structural damage to the house. The officer was not in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

Rick Jackson, superintendent of GMP's Bury division explained that a mechanical component had failed, causing the vehicle to roll.

Chris Hanson, Ms Hanson's son, who is headteacher at a primary school in Chadderton, said he was now concerned about the safety of police vehicles.

He said: "There's the concern that it could happen again. In my mind because of my job I just think about children playing.

"The situation could have been a lot worse."

Supt Jackson said: "At GMP we take road safety very seriously and I would like to reassure people that the GMP vehicle fleet is of a high standard and is above and beyond the expectations of manufacturer standards.

"Engineers assessed the damage to the property and the vehicle has been examined and rectified. We are working to identify the root cause of this but I would like to assure members of the public and reiterate that all our vehicles are maintained to a very high standard, above and beyond the expectations of manufacturer standards."

Despite the incident happening two months ago, Ms Hanson is still suffering from sleepless nights and has been to the doctors to be given medication for stress.

She said: "The process for claiming is taking such a long time I feel so anxious. It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and I struggle sleeping. The longer it goes on the worse I am, I'm not the person I was."

A spokesman for GMP's legal services section added: "We contacted the home owner as soon as the accident was notified to us and we are now dealing directly with the home owner's property insurers to remedy the damage caused to the property. We have assured the home owner that we will do everything we can to resolve the matter as quickly as possible."