A driverless car rolled down a hill before knocking down an elderly woman and jamming itself on top of her.

Firecrews from Leigh and Hadleigh were called to the accident scene in Elm Road, Leigh, at 3.55pm, to lift the black Alfa Romeo off the woman.

The vehicle had been parked at the top of a hill, when the brakes apparently failed.

It careered down the slope and struck the senior citizen who was walking along the pavement, then continued travelling for several feet until she was jammed underneath.

Leading firefighter Russel Freeman said: "The only thing that stopped the car from rolling any further was somebody's fence post in a front garden. She was completely trapped beneath it."

Firefighters placed two inflatable, reinforced rubber bags below the vehicle's undercarriage.

These filled with air and lifted the car high enough above the woman to allow firefighters to lift her away from it.

She was treated by ambulance staff at the scene and taken to Southend Hospital.

Leading firefighter Freeman added: "It was quite a steep hill so it would have been going at a reasonable speed. "We think the woman was quite badly injured but she remained conscious throughout."