The number 13 has never been known for its lucky qualities and this house in Stoneleigh has certainly gone some way proving this over the years.

In its latest unfortunate episode, the unlucky house in Sparrow Farm Road took the full brunt of a car which smashed through its garage wall on Tuesday afternoon.

Sitting above the crumpled car, a supposedly lucky horseshoe remains untouched, but the garage and bedroom above it have been declared unsafe and forced the Lengthorn family into a hotel for the night.

Garry Lengthorn, 42, said it had all happened when his family had fortunately been out of the house.

"My wife left the house at about 4.30pm to pick up our daughter from school and when she came back she saw a car on our drive she didn't recognise," he said.

"As she got nearer she saw a man calmly unloading his shopping from the boot.

"It turned out he had been driving off one of the driveways in the house opposite and because it's an automatic, we think he just hit the accelerator and lost control.

"Luckily the driver was unhurt and nobody was in the house. We didn't know the driver very well before this but we've got to know each other quite well now. I might take the horseshoe back for a refund though."

Neighbours said it was the third unlucky incident to strike the house in recent years, with the previous owners nearly losing the building to a fire which began after a stray spark from a nearby bonfire hit the roof.

The car is set to remain embedded in the property until Friday this week when it will be assessed and builders will be allowed to move in and start structural repairs.