THE elderly couple whose front room was wrecked when a car smashed through the wall say they have suffered weeks of cold and misery waiting for it to be fixed.

Eric and Julia Mackman were lucky to escape serious injury, as they were in another room when the black Ford Focus careered into their home in Briergate, Haxby, York, four days before Christmas.

The smash caused extensive damage, sending rubble and a TV set flying into the air and leaving a gaping hole under the front window.

But Mr Mackman said the hole was still not fixed because of delays caused by the holiday period - and the extensive repairs will take at least another month to complete.

A spokeswoman for the couple's insurance company, AXA, said they had been "lucky" for the work to start so quickly, as it was well within the 40- to 60-day statutory period for claims to be processed.

"It spoiled Christmas for us," Mr Mackman said.

"The front room is really, really draughty so we can't really sit in there.

"Some of our very kind neighbours lent us some tarpaulin to put over the hole, which has been a godsend."

The Mackmans were told by assessors that the whole room would need redecorating because of the dust thrown up by the crash. Major structural work also needs to be carried out on the damaged wall, and new front windows and carpets put in.

Mrs Mackman said their festive plans were thrown into chaos by the crash, meaning they had to cancel a visit by their youngest son and his family.

"It was just one of those things I suppose," she said.

"At least we weren't sitting in the room when it happened. It has been dreadful waiting for something to happen all the time.

"My husband has been on the phone every single day trying to get it sorted out. I don't know why these things have to take so long."

An AXA spokeswoman said: "When a claim is reported to us our first priority is to make sure the property is safe and secure until someone can go in and assess the damage and work out the cost. There was quite a quick turnaround with this claim. It seems longer because of the holiday period, when a lot of contractors are not working."

The cost of the damage is to be met in full by AXA.

Updated: 08:50 Tuesday, January 25, 2005