A family whose cottage collapsed around them when a stolen car ploughed into it could now face a court case to win compensation for the mental trauma brought on by their ordeal.

Anne Strange, 55, still wakes up with a start if she hears a noise in the night. And her husband Robin, 55, regularly gets flashbacks of the time exactly a year ago when their home at Coniston Cold near Skipton was hit by a car driven by a 16-year-old Baildon boy.

The youth took his father's vehicle without permission and smashed into the house, called Katie's Well Cottage, at the side of the A65 while being followed by police officers. He was carrying two passengers.

The impact of the new Audi brought down the gable end of the cottage, trapping the family's 21-year-old daughter Julia in her bedroom. She had to be rescued by her father and brother using a ladder.

Rubble from the 27-inch-thick walls ended up just three feet from Mr and Mrs Strange's bed. Only a wardrobe stopped tons of stones falling on them.

Their 30-year-old son Jonath-an's room was the only bedroom to escape damage.

"We suffered some trauma and stress," said Mrs Strange, a radiographer at Keighley Health Centre. "Three of us saw a psychiatrist and we were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. It looks now like our only option could be to take legal action to get compensation.

"We have been back in the house since Christmas but with all this hanging over our heads it is very difficult to get our lives back together."

The crash happened at 4am on Wednesday, August 15, last year, causing £60,000-worth of damage to the structure of the house and its contents. Mr and Mrs Strange had to move into bed and breakfast accommodation, their daughter stayed at her place of work and only their son continued to live at home.

l The teenager, who could not be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to two months' detention and training in the community, and then two months' training in the community by Skipton magistrates in October last year after admitting aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving. He was also banned from driving for 12 months. His detention was reduced to a week after an appeal.