h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A car crashed into our house last Saturday. It was the middle of the night and we were on our way to bed when there was an almighty bang of metal on stone. It gave us a hell of a scare. I peered through the frosted glass of the front door and saw a van pulling erratically back from our wall, mounting the pavement and hitting the house opposite. I was too nervous to open the door and make a note of the numberplate before the van lurched off down the road. Now I regret it.

The next morning, we discovered that our drainpipe had been shattered and there was a deep groove in our neighbours' wall. The driver of the van must have been blind drunk. I just hope nobody got hit that night.

Yes, you should have tried to get the number. I hope you at least reported it to the police (probably had to do so for insurance purposes). There is still a slim chance of finding the van by the damage which it must have sustained.

It didn't occur to us to call the police, because of how little I'd seen. I'd forgotten we get joyriders round here.