Homeowner's dismay after car crashes into her pond for the NINTH time

A disgruntled homeowner has told how a car smashed through a garden fence and into her pond - for the NINTH time.

The latest crash saw four teenagers flip a Vauxhall Corsa into the 12ft-deep water feature belonging to Stella Lemmon in Hailsham, East Sussex.

Retired Stella, 74, rushed outside her country home after hearing a massive bang at around 9:30 on Sunday night.

It is the ninth time a car has crashed into her pond in the last 20 years.

She said: 'I can't say I couldn't believe my eyes, because I've seen it all before, but you can never get over the fact that there's a car sinking into your serene pond.

'The car was upside down and the boys inside were smashing the windows trying to get out.

'When they scrambled up the bank, they were soaking wet and shivering.

'The driver obviously took the bend too fast - he was probably a boy racer or showing off to his friends.'

The pond, which covers a third of an acre, is at the bottom of a disused quarry and is a haven for fish and waterfowl.

Retired Stella added: 'They were so lucky, because we could have quite easily been fishing four dead teenagers out of the pond.

'If they were older they would not have managed to smash through the windows and clamber up the bank.

'Something needs to be done about that bend, I'm sick of having to fish people out of my pond.

The last incident happened nine months ago when a Saab left Ersham Road and smashed through the same section of fencing, before becoming lodged in a tree above the pond.

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Stella said: 'I think that when you crash into such deep water, you're either pretty much fine or dead.

'Something needs to be done, the bend in the road is too sharp for there not to be a crash barrier.

'People think the road bend isn't as sharp as it is - it's probably more than 90 degrees.'

A Sussex Police spokesman said: 'We were called at 9.30pm to reports a car had crashed through a fence and landed in a quarry.

'Breath tests were taken which were negative, and no one was arrested.

'It's obviously a very lucky escape.'