Witnesses have described hearing a woman crash her car into the front entrance of a sheltered housing complex.

The car hit the front of Pegasus Court in Victoria Road, Buckhurst Hill, on Saturday at about 9.40am.

The front door is now boarded up, although the company that runs the housing has said it is safe and residents are still living there.

Gemma Lammin, 37, of Victoria Road, was parking her car in her drive when the building was hit.

She said: “I was turning into my driveway as it happened.

“I heard this big crash. I thought it was a lorry.”

She ran over to help the car’s elderly driver, who stayed in the car and waited for the emergency services.

She added: “She was physically ok, but quite shaken up. A maintenance man who was working in the car park called the ambulance.

“I think she was coming out of Waitrose and lost control.”

Tracy Stringer, who was working at Churchill Estates near the sheltered housing, said: “I heard a massive noise.

“Someone came running in and asked to borrow a chair, so we gave her one for the lady to sit on.

“I went out and saw chaos. The car had gone into the side of the building.

“It’s always busy down here on a Saturday, so it’s lucky no-one was hit. There are always kids going past.”

Firefighters were called to the scene and the woman was taken to hospital by ambulance.