ANXIOUS residents, whose homes shook as the passenger train came thundering past after the crash, were left calculating the cost of repairs today.

Several houses which back on to the line where the Virgin CrossCountry train partially derailed following Monday night's collision were left with cracks in their brickwork.

Insurers were today counting the cost at about five homes after fractures appeared in ceilings, above stairs and in masonry and windows.

Work was continuing to sift through the wreckage of the car and the express train throughout yesterday.

Christopher Martin, 28, a father-of-one, who lives in Fairfax Croft overlooking the rail line, said: "All the neighbours have been looking round their houses and finding cracks.

"At our house, we've found breaks in the ceiling and the coving in the living room has dropped a little bit.

"The insurance companies are suggesting they'll have to claim the money back from the rail companies - but we don't know whether they'll pay up because no one is sure whose fault the crash is."

Neighbour Jackie Potts, 28, of Fairfax Croft, said: "We have cracks in the kitchen, the living room."