A CAR smashed into a house after a man in his 70s pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.

Miraculously nobody was seriously injured after the incident in Snakes Lane East, Woodford Green.

The accident happened as the pensioner was leaving the Total petrol station and according to witnesses who rushed to help, the driver was waiting for his wife to join him in the car as she finished paying.

The police have also confirmed that as the motorist was leaving the garage forecourt he pressed the accelerator by mistake and ended up crossing the road, crashing through a small concrete wall and into the fron tof a house.

The bonnet of the silver Volvo was wedged under the window of the home's front room.

Neighbour Collette Hanley said: "I was in the garden deadheading my flowers and I heard a huge crash.

"I ran out and the driver was getting out of the car, I was expecting him to be dead."

The retired nurse said the man's elbow was bleeding and she told him to sit down until the ambulance arrived.

Mrs Hanley said her neighbour Colin Turner, who owns the home, was away at the time.

She added: "I was so shocked at what I saw but so pleased nobody was hurt I dread to think what might have happened if Colin had been in the room."

Siva Kandiah, has worked at the Total garage for a year and the accident happened during his shift.

The 34-year-old said: "The driver put petrol in pump four and his wife came to pay.

"The man started to go and probably thought he was hitting the brake but it must have been the gas.

"I was serving a customer so couldn't go straight out but afterwards I saw what happened and it was terrible, very very messy."

The police have said the crash caused structural damage to the house and a temporary gas leak as a pipe in the house was hit.

The driver was interviewed by police but no criminal proceedings were carried out after the crash on July 29.

Mr Turner, who is in his 40s, is believed to be staying in a nearby hotel while his home is rebuilt.

The driver of the Volvo refused to comment when contacted by the Guardian.