A DRIVER has a miraculous escape without serious injury after his car flipped onto its roof in a crash down a quiet street.

Emergency services were forced to close Wimborne Road, Southend, at 7.30am yesterday when a black Renault travelling down the road smashed into an Audi emerging from a car park near Oak House Montessori Nursery.

The Renault flipped onto its roof, sending smashed glass across the road.

The driver, a man thought to be in his thirties, was seen crawling out of the car seemingly without serious injury.

Wimborne Road resident Mike Wilson, 68, rushed to see what had happened after hearing the noise.

He said: “It was quite early this morning. It made an almighty crash so I came to my front room window to see what was going on.

“I saw the driver crawl out of the car and stagger to his feet. He looks shaken but was walking around. I was more worried there might have been other people in the car or petrol spilling onto the road because that can happen sometimes.

“We were on the phone to the police but quickly realised quite a few other people were already calling so I cancelled my call.

“This is usually a very quiet road. It’s unusual to have such a dramatic crash down here.”

Medics were on the scene within nine minutes to treat the driver.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: “We received a call to reports of a crash on Wimborne Road to which we sent an ambulance crew.

“Once on the scene, medics assessed a man, believed to be in his thirties, for facial injuries before taking him to Southend Hospital for further care.”

A woman who was walking past the accident but asked not to be named told the Echo: “It’s really lucky this didn’t happen any later because it’s right outside a nursery.

“There could have been little children in proximity who could’ve been hurt.

“I have no idea how it ended up on its roof, but I hope the driver is OK.”

A traffic officer was on scene collecting evidence while police waited for a recovery vehicle to remove the overturned car. The road was reopened by 11am.

In a second crash yesterday morning, fire crews released a man from a car after it crashed into a lamp post in Central Wall Road, Canvey, near the junction with Knightswick Road.