Mum's lucky escape as runaway car smashes into Lymington shop front

A RUNAWAY car narrowly missed a mother and her baby when it rolled down busy Lymington high street and smashed into a shop window.

The driverless red Citroen was thought to have been parked without the handbrake on in a disabled bay outside the Buttery.

The incident occurred just after 3pm today and witnesses described how pedestrians had to jump out of its way as it came down the hill before mounting the curb and crashing into Figgures toy shop.

A 70-year-old local resident, who gave his name as Chris, told the A&T: “I was walking down the road and the car came right in front of me over the pavement and into the window, I couldn’t believe it.

“It all happened in a split-second and all you heard was the glass shattering and the wood splintering. My initial reaction was to check if there was anyone in the car and I was shocked to find there was no one in there.”

Steve (37), who was driving up the high street when the car rolled passed him, said: “The car was parked in the first disabled bay on the left side of the road and, as I went past, it undertook me from the rear and I straight away realised there was nobody in it.”

He continued: “I quickly pulled onto the right-hand side of the road to stop the oncoming cars and jumped out and shouted ‘watch out!’ and heard a massive crash.

“I ran down to the shop to check if everyone was okay and luckily nobody was hurt and then we phoned the police. It is so unbelievably lucky that no one was injured as the car just missed a lady who was carrying a baby.”

The area was coned off by bystanders, and police were quickly on the scene.

No one from Figgures was available to comment.