Youngsters at a playgroup had a lucky escape when a car ploughed through the front window of the shop next door.

People dived for cover as the out-of-control automatic Rover Metro mounted the pavement and crashed headlong into the front of Sutton Place, a health and beauty salon in Sutton Road, Southend.

Firefighters were called to the parade of shops, opposite Victory Sports Ground, and found the beauty salon filled with smoke.

The woman driver, who turned 80 today, was shaken but unhurt after the crash.

Station officer Martyn Hodder said: "The car was embedded in the front of the shop.

"After impact, the accelerator was jammed in position and as a result the front wheels continued to spin which caused a small carpet fire and a lot of smoke.

"The crews made the vehicle safe and removed it from the shop front. The woman was treated by ambulance crews at the scene."

He added: "Fortunately the salon is closed on Wednesdays but the next window along is a playgroup. If the car had gone through there, it would have been a very different story."

Police believe the woman came out of Ennismore Gardens and have yet to determine why the car did not stop at the end of the road

Lucky escape - firefighters clear up after the Sutton Road smash

Picture: Essex Fire and Rescue Service

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