A couple had a miraculous escape after a car smashed into their house after landing on the garage roof.

Dennis and Brenda Ryan, of Dunmow Road, Rayne, near Braintree, were in their house when a Ford Escort left the road and landed on their garage.

The accident happened at 3.45pm on Christmas Day when the car left the A120 and hit the building about 20ft up.

Mrs Ryan said: "We'd just had dinner when we heard a really loud bang, we thought our chimney had gone. She added: "I could hear the driver screaming, I ran into the road trying to get cars to stop and help."

A police spokesman said: "The point of impact was some 20ft into the air hitting well up the building.

"It is thought the vehicle may have hit a wall which then launched it and it landed on the garage of the cottage and impacted into one of the side walls."

The driver was taken to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford with what the police spokesman described as "relatively minor injuries".

The car, which had been travelling towards Colchester, and house caught fire and were both badly damaged.

Fire crews from Braintree, Dunmow, Wethersfield and Colchester went to the scene.

Braintree station officer David Mayes said: "We could see the fire on our way to the scene, there was a lot of black smoke and flames. The petrol from the car and fuel from a heating tank which had split, caught fire."

He added: "This ran around the house and then into it setting everything alight."

Mr and Mrs Ryan spent Monday night with relatives and are currently seeking alternative accommodation. Mrs Ryan added: "We can't believe what has happened.

"We used to have such a lovely home and now we don't know what is going to happen."

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