TWO homes may have to be demolished after a 16-year-old driver bulldozed through a fence, smashed into a bedroom wall and flattened a shed.

Miraculously, a pensioner was in his kitchen at the other side of his bungalow in Whatcroft Close, Halton Lodge, when a Vauxhall Cavalier crash landed at 10am, last Wednesday.

"It was very lucky he was not in the room at the time," said Sgt Yvonne Williams of Halton traffic police. "He was badly shaken up. His wife was out at work."

The 16-year-old driver was taken to hospital, seriously injured with broken bones, after racing through the estate.

"He had committed offences a short distance up the road and driven off at high speed," said Sgt Williams. "He was followed at some distance. The police car didn't see the crash, it was that far behind."

A 16-year-old passenger was slightly injured.

Bob Clare, of Cosmopolitan Housing, who own one of the properties, said: "There was structural damage. The bungalow may need taking down, costing around £15,000."

Insurance surveyors are assessing the damage. The neighbouring property, which bore the brunt of the crash, is privately owned.

The police are appealing for witnesses. Anyone with information can call 01244-613766.