Huddersfield drink-driver 'lucky' to survive graveyard smash
- Published
The car ploughed through a stone wall on Monday night
A drink-driver smashed through a church wall and destroyed headstones in a late-night crash.
The stone wall at St Stephen's Parish Church in Lindley, Huddersfield, was badly damaged on Monday night.
The Reverend Canon Rachel Firth said the crash had caused "quite substantial damage" including the destruction of "a couple" of headstones.
Police tweeted, external: "This drink-driver is lucky not to have ended up in one of the graves they've just destroyed."
Ms Firth said: "Fortunately the majority of damage is to the wall.
"There is some damage to the gravestones but the earth is not disturbed.
"Stone from the wall is strewn across the churchyard."
Volunteers have come forward to help clear up the damage
The damaged graves were not recent burials and the stones would be repaired and "thankfully" there had been no loss of life in the crash, she added.
A service took place as normal at the church earlier, during which prayers were offered for the emergency services.
The church, which was built in 1830, is to be visited by loss adjusters on Wednesday.
A clean-up operation is due to start and several volunteers had been in touch to clear the churchyard.
"When a place of rest becomes a place of destruction, it is hard to bear," Ms Firth added.
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