Gas engineer counting the cost of crash

Gas engineer Chris Taylor, who has been left counting the cost after his Ford Transit was left buckled in a 3am smash earlier this year, said he has had to let staff go while he is waiting for his insurance company to pay out.

Chris, 38, who has run Chris Taylor Gas Services in St Annes since 2001, saw his van written off after a motorist slammed into the back of it in the early hours of the morning while it was parked up outside one of his workers’ homes.

He also said his staff have had to spend hours trawling through boxes of records trying to find receipts for expensive power tools also wrecked in the crash to give to his insurance company.

He said: “The tools were smashed to bits and all the parts had to be thrown away. The van was completely written off. The left-hand wheel was halfway up the vehicle and the floor was buckled inside.

“There were two spirit levels in the back of the van and they were bent at 90 degree angles. We have been left to pick up the pieces and we are still a van down.”

Chris’ van was parked outside gas engineer Ben Telford’s home in Blackpool Road, Bispham, at the time of the crash.

Ben’s partner, Jade Vickers, 27, said the van was hit with so much force it lurched forward and smashed into the pair’s own Vauxhall Corsa, which was later written off.

Jade and Ben have since had to take out a finance package to fund a new car.

And Simon Ballinger, who runs Bal Driving Tuition in Blackpool, said he lost his five years’ no claims bonus after being hit by a drunk driver.

The 43-year-old said: “They admitted liability but I had to claim on my side first, so I had no no claims bonus for three years.”

“Until it was sorted it was out thousands of pounds. It’s also what you lose in lost earnings, which you can’t prove you would have got in the first place.

“Should there be a central fund until claims are processed?

“Yes, there should.”