A Renault Laguna left the road and collided with a sandstone pillar in the doorway of 2 West Street.

The driver of the car was a 23 year old man from Burgh Le Marsh.

Nobody was injured and the vehicle was lifted from the scene by fire fighters.

Structural engineers were called out to check the damage and make sure the building, which is empty, was safe.

Horncastle fire crew manager Gary Pick said: "The sandstone pillar will be a specialist job to repair which could be expensive."

People living along West Street heard a massive bang as the car crashed into the pillar.

Garry Taylor, of West Street, said: "I heard a big bang and originally thought something had crashed into my car outside.

"Then I went outside and saw the car in had gone into the building further down."

The Georgian townhouse, which is owned by the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, hit the front page last month as Horncastle Civic Society were campaigning to get the historical building restored.

It was given to the college by American scholar, author and historian Earle W Newton.

He intended for it to be used as a learning centre for British and American studies and to help the town forge links with the USA.

The upkeep of the house has proved too costly for the college and it recently announced it had plans to sell it.