About 500 people were moved from 175 houses in Ilfracombe after the 17.5 tonne vehicle careered down a hill.

It overturned and dropped 16 feet (5 metres) into a gully and a three-storey block on Monday.

People living in about 175 homes inside a police exclusion zone were moved away from the area around the site at Slade Valley Road.

No-one was hurt, although two people were treated for shock.

Those moved from their homes were looked after by Devon county social services at Ilfracombe Community College, or were put up in hotels, or stayed with friends and family.

It hit a lamp post, came over the wall and finished just a few feet in front of me, into my door and kitchen.

Resident Arthur Clark

Part of Ilfracombe beach was closed as a precaution after a small amount of chlorine-based chemical leaked on impact down a drain and into the water system, killing a number of fish and eels.

The vehicle was carrying 14.5 tonnes of chemicals, including hydrochloric acid, caustic soda and ammonia when it crashed just after 0900BST on Monday.

About 60 members of the Devon Fire and Rescue Service personnel, wearing special protective suits, removed the cargo of chemicals from the lorry.

The lorry crashed into Burnside Flats, where resident Arthur Clark said: "I saw this wagon coming down the road taking the fence with it.

"It hit a lamp post, came over the wall and finished just a few feet in front of me, into my door and kitchen."

Families rehoused

A spokesman for North Devon Homes (NDH), which runs the affected homes, said eight families living in the block would be put into temporary accommodation while the building was surveyed.

He added that the lorry had smashed a metre-square hole in the wall of one of the flats.

"It is a miracle it did not cause too much damage, with the momentum it built up down the hill. Everyone is thinking how lucky they are this morning," said the spokesman.

Lorry owner E and E Ltd of Cheshire, revealed the driver of the vehicle was driving on his own for the first time after completing a week's induction course.

Experts have been checking the chemicals

However, the company said the employee previously worked for the Royal Marines and was already qualified to drive hazardous materials.

A police spokesman said there had been "a fair amount of damage" to the flats, and a housing inspector was called to assess structural safety.

A crane lifted the lorry from its crash position on Tuesday morning.