Beauty salon staff and customers avoided injury when an elderly driver smashed her car through the shop front.

The confused motorist ploughed through the double doors and plate glass window of Jackie Walker Hair and Beauty in Biggin Street, Loughborough, narrowly missing people inside.

The woman, understood to be in her 90s, lost control of her Mazda as she tried to get out of a disabled parking space.

With her husband in the passenger seat, she drove several metres through the wrecked shop front before reversing out and hitting a block of flats on the opposite side of the road.

It happened at about 3.30pm on Wednesday.

Both the shocked pensioners and the people inside the salon were unharmed.

Owner Jackie Walker said: "It truly was everyone's lucky day. "There was a solicitor walking past the front of the salon at the time who narrowly missed being hit.

"The car ripped off one of the double doors and struck a large glass cabinet full of sun glasses, catapulting it across the room.

"It missed a customer by a matter of inches. If she had been hit, she could have easily have been killed.

"It was a just a terrible accident but at that time of day, when we are normally busy, it's a miracle that we had no injuries."

Salon receptionist Karen Muncie said: "I saw the lady getting into the car and thought nothing of it.

"The next thing she has smashed through the front of the shop.

"I was quite scared but the old lady looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. She froze. She had her foot jammed on the accelerator with the wheels spinning. It's left burned rubber marks on our floor.

"I tried to calm her down and get her to release the pedal but when she reversed she shot out and hit the building opposite."

Police were quickly on the scene.

They drove the woman and husband home and no arrests were made.

The front of the shop was boarded up on Wednesday evening and staff were able to clear up the debris so they could reopen for business as usual on Thursday.

Several thousand pounds worth of damage was caused and insurance loss adjustors were due to visit today.