An elderly woman who suffered serious injuries at her Clacton home yesterday when her husband apparently drove his BMW in to their porch in a “tragic accident” remains in hospital.

The woman, whose details have not been released, was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital after the incident on a private driveway in Washford Gardens at around 11.50am.

A grey BMW estate is thought to have crashed through the porch and in to the house.

The injured woman is understood to have been standing in the porch near the front door at the time of the incident.

The vehicle is believed to have been driven by her husband.

She sustained “life changing” injuries and was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridgeshire.

This morning, a spokesman for Essex Police said she is still being treated for “serious” leg injuries at the hospital.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, yesterday said: “My neighbour told me what happened. They heard a noise and came out. He was in the car (and) instead of reversing out of the drive he drove forward in to her and in to the house.

“It’s a tragic accident. They are an elderly couple who have lived there for some years. The car must have come through the front bit and hit the brickwork.”

At the scene yesterday, a police spokesman also described it as “a tragic accident”.

He said the male driver, who walks with a stick, was being looked after by his daughter and a neighbour.

The East of England Ambulance Service described the injuries sustained to the woman as “serious”.

Steve Box, duty operations manager at the ambulance service who attended the scene, said: “We believe the woman was struck by the car while she was stepping inside the house from the porch. She sustained serious injuries to both ankles.

“Our crews and the critical care team from the helicopter worked extremely hard to stabilise the woman at the scene before she was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridgeshire for further care.”

Firefighters gave the woman oxygen before leaving her in the care of the ambulance service at around 12.30pm.