'Incredibly dangerous' - Police speak out after skip lorry smashes into Sheffield home

The vehicle was deliberately reversed into a property in Shirehall Road, Shiregreen, on Monday at 7.30pm.

The cab of the lorry was then set on fire but fortunately the blaze did not spread to the property and the occupant of the house, a woman, was uninjured.

Police are treating the incident as a ‘targeted attack’ and those responsible are still at large.

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Henderson said: “While our investigation is still in its early stages and we have lots of work ongoing to understand the circumstances surrounding this incident, at this time we do believe this was targeted.

“We are also exploring whether this incident is part of any wider issues within the community. There are additional police patrols in the Shiregreen area to provide some reassurance and to help us as we progress our fast-paced investigation.

“No arrests have been made and we are keen to speak to anyone who may hold information about those involved in last night’s incidents.

“It goes without saying that the use of the lorry to cause damage to a property is incredibly dangerous and someone could have been seriously injured.”

Police believe there was more than one person in the lorry and that they fled the scene in a getaway vehicle.

Moments later, at about 7.35pm, this vehicle was reportedly involved in a collision with two others in Beck Road.

Residents spoke of their shock over the incident.

One woman told how she ran outside after hearing an almighty crash, and she said the woman living there had run into the back of the house and shut herself in.She said a young couple believed to be in their 20s had lived in the house for some time, but it is thought only the woman was inside at the time.The neighbour told how as she ran towards the house she saw the occupants of the lorry jump into a car and speed off – hitting a parked car, which they shunted into another vehicle, as they did so."I ran out to see if there was anybody in the house, and the woman who lives there had shut herself in the back," said the neighbour, who asked not to be named."The people in the skip lorry got out and jumped into what appeared to be a Land Rover or some other 4x4, with no number plate."It looked like they deliberately drove into the neighbour's car as they sped off."It was terrifying. The couple who live there are lucky to be alive. I'm just glad no one was hurt, but they've lost their home, which is awful. It's hideous."

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