FOUR families, left in limbo after a house in a residential street collapsed, face watching their homes being pulled down by bulldozers this weekend.

The property that collapsed in Ridley Road, Bromley, on April 11 belonged to Terence and Yvonne Shepherd. They alerted neighbours and the fire brigade after noticing alarming cracks start to form in their walls at four in the morning.

They were trapped inside their home until firefighters arrived. Four hours later their home of almost six years caved into a 20ft hole that appeared in their front garden.

The Shepherd family have been living in a hotel paid for by their insurance company. The other three neighbouring families are also waiting for the demolition teams to move in.

The Shepherds lived at number 122. Numbers 120, 124 and 126 are also to be knocked down.

Mrs Shepherd said: “We’ve been married 35 years. There are a lot of memories in that house. We want them to knock it down with respect.”

“You hope that it can be rescued but next thing you know, we find out that it, and the three others, had been condemned.”

Mrs Shepherd and her husband were treated for shock after their home caved in. She added: “We just want to know why this has happened.”

Mrs Shepherd, speaking to Bromley Extra hours after the incident, stressed: “I’m devastated, but no one was hurt. I guess that’s the main thing.”