Couple told house might collapse if they open door

John Musgrave's home on the corner of Main Street and Bewholme Lane has been hit by cars multiple times

A couple say they are unable to open their front door in case it causes their whole cottage to collapse after it was struck twice in 20 minutes by passing cars.

John Musgrave, 76, from Seaton, near Hornsea, East Yorkshire, said he and his wife Suzanne, 75, had been advised the door may be preventing the property collapsing.

Mr Musgrave blamed the road layout and speeding drivers for a spate of accidents.

An East Riding of Yorkshire Council spokesperson said it was considering measures it could take.

Mr Musgrave, whose wife has a disability, said: "We've been told we can't open the door in case the whole lot comes down on us. It's causing a lot of inconvenience."

The advice was given by both their insurer and a structural engineer following the crashes on 3 December, Mr Musgrave said.

"Suzanne has trouble walking," he explained. "To help her, I pull our car right up to the front door.

"Now, because of the damage, she is having to use another door, which requires her to walk across gravel."

Structural engineers think the front door could be holding up the cottage

Mr Musgrave said their downstairs shower was also off limits, further inconveniencing his wife who is having to climb a flight of stairs to use another bathroom.

"The entire bathroom wall has moved almost 1ft (30cm)," he said.

The accidents happened during light snow, with Humberside Police stating the cars had left the road "as a result of poor weather conditions". There were no reports of any injuries.

However, Mr Musgrave said bollards installed to protect the cottage were often struck in all weathers.

"Cars hit the bend before they realise what speed they are doing," he said.

Mr Musgrave claimed signs fail to give drivers sufficient warning of a bend in the road, adding he regularly observed drivers breaking the road's 30mph (48km/h) speed limit.

A East Riding of Yorkshire Council spokesperson said: "Although the road through Seaton is a gritted route, the conditions were particularly bad that evening, and the road had to be gritted twice.

“In the past, the council has installed a number of bollards outside this particular house in a bid to mitigate against any road collisions.

“In September last year, we also resurfaced the bends through this village, laying high skid-resistance road surfacing," the spokesperson added.

“We have recently been speaking with this resident and our traffic engineers are currently investigating what other measures we could take.”

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].