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© UnknownWreckage: The scene after a 30-year-old man crashed his car into the house of his ex-girlfriend Tara Lavery in Caversham, near Reading, Berks. He had texted and phoned the house minutes before the crash to make sure his former lover and her children were all there

A man slit his throat before crashing his car into his ex-girlfriend's house.

It is understood he had texted and phoned the house minutes before the crash to make sure his former lover and her children were all at home.

He then drove the black Peugeot through the front wall at 80mph, injuring three young children who were playing in the sitting room.

Neighbours said the man had been distraught at being rejected by his girlfriend.

Witnesses told how he was found in the wreckage of his car with blood pouring from his throat. He had also suffered neck and chest injuries.

Remarkably, the 30-year-old man survived but was on a life support machine and in a 'critical' condition.

Witnesses told how he was found in the wreckage of his car with blood pouring from his throat. He had also suffered neck and chest injuries.

Remarkably, the 30-year-old man survived but was on a life support machine and in a 'critical' condition.

The dramatic suicide attempt involved the man's ex-girlfriend Tara Lavery, her three children and a friend's child who was playing at the house in Caversham, near Reading in Berkshire.

'The car screeched off the road doing about 80mph and slammed straight into the front of the house, demolishing the wall and windows,' said one neighbour who asked not to be named.

'He set off from the end of the road and had apparently slit his own throat with a knife before tearing down the street, flying over a mini-roundabout and deliberately aiming the car at the house.

'The fire brigade had to cut him out of the wreckage and the paramedics were talking about the unusual fact that his throat was cut as well as the other injuries he was suffering.

'I have heard since that he couldn't face being rejected and wanted to end it all,' added the neighbour.

Three of the four children in the house had to be taken to hospital with cuts after being hit by flying glass.

One of the victims was Tara's youngest daughter who is six years old. She had cuts to her head. The other child, who was a friend's 11-year-old son, was taken to hospital with cuts to his shoulder.

The neighbour added: 'It is beyond belief to think that anyone could consider killing themselves and possibly take a mother and four children with him.'

Miss Lavery, whose children were by a different man, was not injured but was said to be very shaken by the incident and was being looked after by friends.

The family's terraced home was shored up by structural engineers and boarded up because it was unsafe.

A spokesman for the South Central Ambulance Service confirmed that a 30-year-old man, who was the driver of the car, had been taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in a very serious condition.

'He had a severe cut to his throat as well as injuries to his chest and neck. We took three children to hospital, two girls and a boy but all were allowed home after treatment, he said, adding: 'The whole incident could have ended with multiple fatalities.'

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that the driver, who they refused to name, was detained in hospital in intensive care and was on a life-support machine.

'He is technically under arrest in hospital but is in a very serious condition. Inquiries into what happened before the crash are continuing,' added the spokesman.