"I was asleep when this horrific bang woke me up. I thought at first it was a bomb blast. All you could see was debris and dust. Gas was leaking and people outside were screaming: 'Get out, Mary!'."

These are just some of the words pensioner Mary Mullen, 71, uses to describe the moments when a First bus crashed into her home in Lawrence Street, York - the house where she was born and has lived all her life.

Today, Mary and her sister, Bernadette Moore, spoke of the terrifying ordeal, which left their £300,000 home in ruins.

Bernadette, 61, wept as she told how she peered through debris for Mary, fearing she had been buried under rubble. "I thought she was dead," she said.

The Evening Press can reveal that the elderly couple's home and contents insurance had expired when the crash happened and now the sisters fear what could happen to them.

TRAUMATISED sisters Mary Mullen and Bernadette Moore spoke for the first time today of the terrifying moment a bus smashed into their York home.

Bernadette, 61, wept and shook as she told how she peered through dust and debris for Mary, fearing she had been buried under rubble after the First bus partially demolished 62 Lawrence Street last week.

"I thought she was dead," she said. "It was absolutely awful."

Mary, 71, who recently finished treatment for cancer, said: "I was asleep when this horrific bang woke me up. The whole house was shaking. The lights were swinging.

"I thought the roof would come in on me. All you could see was debris and dust.

"I thought at first it was a bomb blast. Then I thought we had been hit by a bulldozer from the demolition site next door. Gas was leaking and people outside were screaming: 'Get out, Mary!'"

Mary, who was born in the house and has lived there all her life, said the bus had left a "huge gaping hole" in the corner of her bedroom, and destroyed some treasured family items.

Bernadette said she now jumped every time a door banged, and had also suffered a bad turn on one occasion, with people fearing she was having a heart attack.

Mary revealed that, following her illness, her contents and buildings insurance had expired earlier this year and she had only been in the process of obtaining fresh cover when the accident happened, and she did not know what would happen next.

Their home is understood to be worth about £300,000.

Police are still investigating the crash, which happened when a bus turning right out of James Street into Lawrence Street ploughed first into a parked car, and then struck the corner of the house before eventually coming to a rest on a demolition site.

The bus was not in service at the time but was due to become a Park & Ride bus. Inspections by experts revealed last week that the bus was mechanically sound.

Police did not interview the driver last week because he was so shaken up by what had happened. Earlier this week, First denied rumours that he had suffered from a history of blackouts and said he had passed a breath test at the scene.

Police said today that the bus driver would be interviewed when he was fit and well enough.

TODAY relative Stephen Davies, who has been supporting the sisters since the accident, called on First to "do the right thing" and ensure the sisters were properly accommodated in the area where they had always lived until their home could be re-built.

Mr Davies, who is Mary's son's father-in-law, also claimed: "No one from First has been to see them and check how they are and apologise for what happened.

"These ladies are absolutely traumatised. Mary has already been very ill with cancer and they need help, but no one is doing anything for them. I think it's absolutely disgusting."

He said First's loss adjustors had accommodated the sisters at the Hilton Hotel since the crash, but they were uncertain where they would go after today.

He appealed for the company to ensure they did not have to go through a long legal wrangle before finally being able to go back into their home. "I don't think they could take it."

First's commercial director Peter Edwards said today that the company fully understood the sisters' concerns.

"We recognise and appreciate it must have been an extremely traumatic experience for them. However, in such situations, matters are placed in the hands of our insurers and legal experts, and it is not normal practice for the company to get directly involved. There are certain legal procedures we are obliged to follow.

"It was our understanding that the family was being represented by a solicitor, who could act on their behalf."

He added that he would speak to the person from First who was dealing with the accident, to pass on the family's concerns.

Mr Davies said a solicitor had been appointed to handle the matter for the sisters, but his services had been dispensed with because of the unacceptable terms he had offered, and the family was seeking to appoint another solicitor. Until a new solicitor was on board, he had the sisters' written consent to act on their behalf.

Updated: 08:26 Friday, September 30, 2005