NEIGHBOURS have recalled the terrifying moment when a car smashed through a fence and hedge before flying through the air and landing in a front garden.

NEIGHBOURS have recalled the terrifying moment when a car smashed through a fence and hedge before flying through the air and landing in a front garden.

People living in Point Clear Road, St Osyth, were expecting the worst after they saw a car leave the road after a sweeping bend, smash through a fence and hedge, collide with another car and then launch four feet into the air and over another hedge.

After the Rover 216 came to a halt, it is alleged three young male occupants ran off down the road towards Clacton, covered in blood from cuts and grazes.

The accident happened at about 8.15pm on Thursday. The vehicle crossed the carriageway, demolished a wooden fence and concrete fence posts in Gerald Jenkins' front garden and mowed down the well-established hedge between Mr Jenkins' and his neighbours' gardens.

The Rover then collided with a Renault Savannah, which propelled it into the air and over another hedge landing with a loud thud in Francis Lewsey's garden, showering glass, metal and car parts which damaged Mrs Lewsey's Ford Granada and a Vauxhall Astra.

Terry Marshall, who lives in the house neighbouring Mrs Lewsey, said: “All I saw was a car coming towards me. I was just going into the house. I heard a screech and thought: 'Oh my God, it's going to hit someone.' I couldn't get into the door quick enough. I thought it was coming towards me. It was so frightening.”

Rob Hurrell, who is a constable with Colchester police and lives near the crash scene, said: “I was in the garden with family and friends. There was a loud bang outside. The typical sound of a car collision. This hasn't been the first time. It was a familiar sound.

“All of us went running to the front. Somebody shouted: 'That's the driver and there was a male running away.”

The driver was later taken to Colchester General Hospital where he was treated for internal bleeding as well as his head injury. His passengers suffered cuts and grazes.

A man was arrested and later released on police bail pending further enquiries until July 24.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Stanway road policing unit on 01206 762512.