The 75-year-old resident of the Notting Hill flat smashed by a London bus says she counts herself ‘lucky’ to have been out at dinner when the crash happened.

A single-decker electric bus careered into the front of 73 St Quintin Avenue last Thursday evening, sending debris flying.

The resident of the flat, who asked not to be named, lives there with her 82-year-old husband and was at a nearby pub when the bus smashed into her living room. 

She said: ‘My husband sits in an armchair more or less in the window – there’s rubble all over the settee where I normally sit.

‘I think if we’d have been at home, God forbid, he’d have copped the lot.’

The crash has left the couple homeless.  

Images show rubble and even a broken window frame strewn across the ground outside the Edwardian home, which has been divided into three flats. 

Pictured: the aftermath of the Notting Hill flat was smashed by a London bus 

A single-decker electric bus careered into the front of 73 St Quintin Avenue last Thursday evening

The crash has left a 75-year-old pensioner and her 82-year-old husband homeless

Recalling the events of the evening, the pensioner said: ‘We were at The Pavilion, round the corner, having dinner. 

‘My younger sister phoned me – she said “where are you, I’ve been trying to ring you but the phone’s dead”.

‘Then my neighbour rang and said “where are you?”

‘She said “something’s happened, I’m coming round, you’ve got to come back straight away”.

‘When we walked round the corner I couldn’t believe seeing the bus where it was.’

The couple have been unable to return to their home following the crash and have been put up in a hotel more than a mile away. 

The pensioner said that the hotel stay has made it even more difficult to get to hospital appointments following her cancer diagnosis. 

Now, she and her partner face potentially two more moves. 

She added: ‘I’m trying not to think about it, because I’ll end up getting upset again. 

‘I’m just waiting for the housing trust – they’ve said they’re going to try and find us some temporary accommodation.

‘I’ve told them if they can find us a flat that’s more or less the same size as the one we’ve just lost, then we’ll just do one move.

‘Two moves might be a bit too much for us at our age.’ 

The bus was left embedded inside the house, on a street where house prices average £1.2million

The staircase leading to the front door was destroyed, while the front windows were shattered and pushed from their frames

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘On Thursday, 2 July at 19:02hrs police were called to reports of a collision between a bus and a residential building on St Quintin Avenue, Notting Hill.

‘Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade.

‘No injuries were reported, no arrests have been made, and no criminal offences have been identified.

‘Anyone with information that may assist police is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 7570/2July.’

A Transport for London spokesperson said: ‘A route 70 bus was involved in a collision.

‘There was a minor injury that thankfully did not require treatment. The safety of our customers, colleagues and members of the public is of paramount importance, and we are working closely with the bus operator, First Bus, who are investigating this incident.’ 

A spokesman for Peabody, the housing association responsible for the flats, said: ‘We know this has been a huge shock for the residents affected, and our priority is making sure they have the support they need.

‘We’ve been in regular contact with them and are providing practical help, including temporary accommodation, help with essential costs, and arrangements to safely remove and store belongings. We’re also looking at longer-term housing options while repairs are carried out.

‘We know how difficult and upsetting this is for residents who cannot return home at the moment, and we’ll support them for as long as needed.’ 

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A spokesman for First Bus London said: ‘We can confirm that one of our buses was involved in a collision last Thursday. Emergency services attended the scene, and we are assisting them with their response. There have been no reported serious injuries, and no passengers were on board at the time of the incident. We are supporting our driver and cooperating fully with the police as enquiries continue.’

The crash happened on Thursday when the bus collided with street furniture and two parked cars before mounting the pavement and ploughing through the front wall of the Notting Hill house. 

It was left embedded inside the house, on a street where house prices average £1.2million. 

The staircase leading to the front door was destroyed, while the front windows were shattered and pushed from their frames. Debris was scattered across the street following the impact.

It’s the latest incident to involve an electric bus in London and comes after another burst into flames in June. 

Twenty-five firefighters were rushed to the bus depot in Westbourne Park in west London as a No 23 bus went up in flames, taking with it two electric vehicle charging points.

Fire crews managed to extinguish the blaze in less than an hour. Nobody was seriously injured. 

That blaze happened on one of the hottest June days ever recorded, with temperatures reaching 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire.