Residents feared an “almighty bang” that came after a car ploughed into a house on a country lane was the sound of a bomb exploding.

The owners of the 18th century building in Busheyfields Road, Herne, believe it was lucky no one died in the crash.

School volunteer Monika Burns was standing in her kitchen when she heard the screech of brakes outside her village property as a BMW tried to round the bend, followed by an explosion of noise.

The 59-year-old then discovered the vehicle in her front garden, with her lychgate destroyed and part of her house “shunted back three inches”.

“I knew exactly what it meant because I live on a very, very sharp bend in a country lane,” Mrs Burns recalled.

“The screech of brakes was followed by an almighty bang.

“A cloud of debris went into the air.

“My husband Graham was in a separate room and thought it was an explosion from Canterbury or somewhere – he was waiting for a news flash to say a bomb’s gone off or something.

“Even the officers who arrived said it was unbelievable no one died.”

Mrs Burns, who volunteers at the Archbishop’s School in Canterbury, says the incident has caused “huge structural damage” to her home, which dates back to the late 1700s.

She believes it will cost tens of thousands of pounds and take “months of grief and stress” for the damage to her house to eventually be repaired.

“It’s an absolute mess,” Mrs Burns continued.

"My husband Graham was in a separate room and thought it was an explosion..."

“There’s a massive crack on the interior wall for a study that protrudes on the end of my house – the room’s gone.

“The car had taken out our lychgate with a massive post on it, a barrow which was parked outside the door for fruit and vegetables, before smashing onto an extension on the front of the house.

“It shunted the whole building three inches in the direction it hit it.

“It proceeded to flip round, and crashed into concrete flower urn and knocked that across our flowerbed before coming to a rest.”

Police have confirmed they were called to the scene just after 9pm on Friday, after receiving a report a car had crashed into a building.

Officers arrested a man on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, as they took him to hospital for precautionary checks.

A spokesman added: “The man has since been released pending further enquiries.

“No serious injuries were reported.”