A FATHER has spoken of his horror after a car ploughed into his home – and he looked out of his window to realise that the people inside were probably dead.

Gareth Burns, 33, was asleep when the car – with four people inside – smashed into the wall of his end terrace on Middleton Road, Chadderton.

"I’ve never heard anything like it," he said. "I thought the walls of the house had collapsed.

"I looked out of the window and saw a mangled wreck. You don’t know what you are going to wake up to when you hear a thing like that. I took one look and thought, ‘there are dead people in there.  It was a sickening bang and it’s upsetting.

"Nobody deserves that – you wouldn’t wish it on anybody. I’m just happy my family are okay. The front of the house is a mess but that’s just bricks and mortar," added Gareth, who lives in the property with his wife and two young children.

His father-in-law, Jimmy Gray, 54, a plumber who lives next door, added: "I looked out and thought, ‘there’s no chance anyone has survived’.

"We had to move wreckage from the front door to get out. The police and fire crews came and cut out a girl who was still alive. One of the firemen took a look at the others in the car and just shook his head. Then they put a sheet over it. It’s the sixth crash on this stretch of road in two years."

It was in the early hours of Sunday morning that the Vauxall Vectra smashed into the garden wall in front of the houses, killing three of the occupants and leaving the fourth in a critical condition.

Minutes earlier the vehicle – driven by 30-year-old banned driver Paul Bunting – had been spotted by police after jumping a red light at Mumps roundabout

At the behest of the police, the car pulled over on nearby Oldham Way, but before the traffic officer could get out of his fully-marked BMW, the car sped off across the bypass.

The police gave chase along the dual carriageway and down on to Middleton Road, where the drama reached its tragic conclusion.

The Vectra, which police say was travelling at high speeds, hit a bump in the road at the junction with Broadway and shot into the air.

The driver lost control and the car mounted the pavement before spinning 100 yards on its side and finally slamming into the garden wall, where it flipped on to its roof.

Former Oldham Athletic striker Matthew Tipton, 28, lives in Middleton Road with his wife Becky and their young son.

He said: "I was woken up by police sirens, then seconds later I heard a really loud explosion. It felt like a bomb had gone off in my house. From the sound of the sirens, I think the police were probably still on the other side of Broadway when the Vectra crashed. Loads of police cars and fire engines arrived and were here for a very long time."

Rosemary Curry, 44, ran out of her house after hearing the explosion.

She said: "There was an almighty crash. I came outside and there was a young police officer looking at the car. He seemed shocked.  He asked me to talk to the girl who was still alive so I kneeled down to speak to her. It was all quiet inside."

Paul Bunting, of no fixed address, and his front seat passenger, a 23-year-old convicted armed robber called Christopher Morrison, from Middleton, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Cassie Fox, a 19-year-old mum from Monsall, died from her injuries in hospital a short time later.

A fourth passenger – 18-year-old Clare Matthews who is thought to live in North Manchester – is currently said to be in a "critical condition" at Hope Hospital, Salford.