The silver Astra caused massive cracks to appear in the wall of the Pressleys' homePETER and Joan Pressley had a rude awakening on Thursday morning when a car catapulted into the side of their home on the unclassified road between Lavington and Worton.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, their oil tank was demolished by another car which failed to take a bend.

Mr Pressley said he now fears for the safety of his family and is demanding action from Wiltshire County Council before anyone is killed.

He said: "I don't believe I should be forced to live like this. The council say they can do nothing about speeding traffic, but that is totally unacceptable.

"I pay my taxes the same as anyone else and I and my family should be protected from irresponsible drivers who pay no attention to road conditions."

The couple, whose daughter Philippa and grandson Edward, 12, live in the adjoining cottage, have been complaining about the speed of traffic along the stretch that runs past their house for some time and have been told that it would cost £800 to introduce a 40mph limit there.

In the past two years they have had their porch demolished by a crashing car and a BMW belonging to one of their visitors severely damaged.

But the incident shortly after 5.30am on Thursday is the most serious yet and the silver Vauxhall Astra could not be removed from the scene for some hours because the wall of the house had been left unsafe.

Mrs Pressley said: "There was the most enormous crash. We knew exactly what had happened because there have been so many similar things over the last year or two. But I was terrified what I was going to find when I went downstairs. I almost wept with relief when there was a knock at the door and the driver stood there unhurt."

The unlucky motorist was 36-year-old Mark Whincup, from Melksham, a serving soldier who was on his way to work at Larkhill Barracks.

He said: "I drive along this road every morning, so I know it well. But we have just had the first rainfall for some time and the road was slippery just on the bend.

"The car skidded and went into the bank. It rebounded and ended up in the couple's garden. I don't remember exactly how it got there, I'm just glad it wasn't any worse."

The trail of damage included the demolition of several feet of hedge, a severely damaged greenhouse and the wall in which the car was embedded, which will need to be demolished.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, the second car lost control on the bend, turned upside down, tore down a fence and demolished the oil tank.

The fire brigade had to be called to clear up the spilt fuel. Again, no-one was hurt in the crash.

Mrs Pressley, who owns and runs a hat hire shop in St John's Alley, Devizes, said: "The traffic is just terrible these days. I can't sit in our front room any more. The sight of these people driving like maniacs is more than I can stand."

Mr Pressley said: "It all started when the A360 was closed for repair last year. A lot of the traffic was diverted along here and many drivers discovered it as a rat run."

A spokesman for Wiltshire County Council said it had recently installed new signs on the stretch of road and would look at further measures once its budget allowed.