A lorry which ploughed into a line of parked cars left seven damaged vehicles strewn across the road after the early morning crash.

The accident happened in Keighley Road, Crossflatts, at 5.20am yesterday when the articulated wagon heading towards Bingley rounded a bend and then drove headlong into a blue Nissan Micra at the back of a queue of empty vehicles just before the Micklethwaite Lane junction.

It shunted the Micra some 30 yards as vehicles in front were hit and then shoved left and right with one car ending on its side in the road and another rammed up onto the pavement.

Civil engineer Gary Nixon was just readying for work and minutes from being at his Transit van, which was spun into the carriageway by the force of the impact.

“I was just putting on work trousers ready to set off when there was this enormous bang.

“I ran straight out the door in my pants and socks and there was this wagon on the other side of the road.

“There were cars and debris everywhere.

“The driver was standing by the lorry on the other side of the road as I raced out.

“I said to him, ‘What the hell’s happened?’ and he said something about avoiding a dog,” said Mr Nixon, who has lived in the terrace of houses fronted by cherry trees for 32 years.

“It must have hit the first one headlong and kept going – there are no black skidmarks on the road,” said Mr Nixon, pointing at the clean tarmac.

“It’s shaken me up a bit, because another couple of minutes and I’d have been out at the van and could have ended up between a car and the wall,” said Mr Nixon, 54, who had been on his way to pick up his son and head to work.

Apart from damage to his company van, he also saw his grey Ford Mondeo wrecked in the accident.

“I’ve just sold it in part-exchange and was due to do the deal on Saturday, so that’s not going to happen,” he said.

Also hastily dealing with insurance companies was care worker Bernadette Lee, whose Micra was the first car to be hit.

“It was just turned into a little ball of twisted metal,” said Mrs Lee, 53.

“I was too sickened to go out and look at it closely.

“It was complete havoc out there - how the heck it can have happened I don’t know.

“Now I’ve got no car and probably won’t get what it’s worth from the insurance.

“And it’s my birthday on Saturday - what a cracking present!

“I’m not a happy bunny,” Mrs Lee said.

West Yorkshire Police closed the road until 8.30am as recovery vehicles removed the most damaged cars which were in order of the collision: A blue Nissan Micra, a black Nissan Note, a white Ford Transit, a grey Ford Mondeo, a grey Vauxhall Corsa, a white Suzuki and a black Ford Focus.

A police spokesman said investigations into the accident were underway including checks on the lorry and interviews with its 58-year-old driver.