KEY POINTS:
Oh no, not again!" yelled Julia Walker when she and her husband Ross were woken at 6am by a car crashing through their bedroom wall.
"I think I was in denial at first," said Julia. "But this time I thought, 'I'm going to get dressed before I get up and start walking round in the mud again'."
The rude awakening last month was the third time in four years a car has slammed into the Walkers' Auckland home - and the sixth time a vehicle has ploughed through their garden after careering off the road.
The series of "home invasions" has left the couple shaken and fearful. Julia, 60, has resorted to sleeping pills to calm her nerves, and wakes at every screech of brakes.
"I couldn't take another one," she said. "I'd have to move."
Their incredible run of bad luck started in 2004 when a Nissan Skyline flew across New Windsor Rd, barged through their fence and garden and into their bedroom.
"It was just two minutes before we went to bed," said Julia. "We were going to go to bed early and Ross said, 'let's watch something on the video'."
"It was horrific," said Ross, 62. "It was like a bomb going off. It's miraculous nobody was hurt."
Two years later it happened again. A car tore through their garden and embedded itself in the outside corner of their house, smashing in the bedroom wall. Fortunately, the couple was in Australia at the time. "The letter box ended up on the roof," said Ross.
Then, about four weeks ago, it was third time unlucky. A car smashed through the wall of their bedroom and lounge at 6am, sending books cascading on to Ross' head.
"It's just fortunate that none of the cars has caught fire," Ross said, still shocked by the memory.
There have also been three near-misses in the same period.
In one, a motorbike bowled their letter box and ended up in the garden; another car soared off the road and stopped 2m from their bedroom window; and in the other incident a car crashed into the top of their garden, sending the driver flying through the air to land on the lawn.
Amazingly, their home is not even on a corner. It is, however, directly opposite Whitney St, which Ross said was used by some people as a "racetrack".
The intersection with New Windsor Rd is governed only by a give way sign.
Ross said at the very least, it needed speed bumps and a stop sign, although he reckoned even that was just a "Band-Aid" solution.
He blamed drink driving and a lack of responsibility.
"When guys are drunk up to the eyeballs they don't stop.
"The root of the issue is stopping them speeding up Whitney St.
"What does it take for people to live up to their responsibilities when they get into a car?"
The Walkers said Auckland City Council had recommended they plant trees or install a few concrete bollards.
But after spending thousands on house repairs and replanting the garden four times, they are loath to spend more money.
Transport committee chairman Ken Baguley said the council had investigated the problem and was working on finding "appropriate solutions".
"While acknowledging that poor driver behaviour has been a contributing factor in the crashes, the council understands the concerns raised by the Walkers."
Baguley said road safety engineers had recommended replacing the existing give way signs with stop signs.
"This is going through the necessary legal process of resolution, which could take four to six weeks."
Once that change is approved, the council can fit stop signs and advance signs alerting motorists they are approaching an intersection where they must stop.
The council is also investigating the possibility of installing a traffic island on the approach to New Windsor Rd and "some form of barrier" to prevent further incidents.
The changes can't come quick enough for the Walkers.
"Our kids want us to move out," said Julia. "But we like it here. We've been here 40 years, we have great neighbours. We don't want to move."
Ross can't help wondering what fate has in store next.
"They say everything has a purpose. But sometimes, it's a bit puzzling."
