An elderly woman was sitting behind the door of a Bobbing pub just moments before a car ploughed through it.

Had it not been for the fact Rita Egan, 84, is partially deaf, her son Shaun, who runs the Dancing Dog Saloon, believes it may have been a different story.

The 58-year-old said: "Mum lives in River Drive, Strood, but comes down on a Sunday. She was immediately behind the front door, about four foot away diagonally.

"But about a minute before it happened she got up to walk to the other end of the bar to hear what someone was saying to her. She said it's the first time she was glad she is partially deaf.

"She's fine but obviously glad she got up. We're certainly thanking our lucky stars."

Mr Egan was standing behind the bar when he heard a loud bang just before 5.40pm today. Five people were also inside the watering-hole at the time. Nobody was injured.

"I just grabbed the phone and called 999," he said.

"I could see the car but I couldn't get out because of the rubble. There was a young lad inside [the vehicle].

"There was already someone who stopped outside and was seeing to him. Then the ambulance arrived, the fire brigade and the police."

It's understood the car was travelling along Sheppey Way towards Bobbing when it mounted the pavement before demolishing two picnic benches and hitting the building.

He added: "I've run it for 12 years and nothing like this has happened in my time, although I know there was a fatality the other end of the pub about 15 years ago.

"It's the national speed limit along that road but it's never worried me before because just before I bought it, the council moved the road away from the pub to make it safer and we've not had a problem."

Thanks to the customers who were in the boozer at the time, Mr Egan has managed to clear some of the rubble

"I'm sure I'll give them a free drink," he said.

A structural engineer was expected to attend the site to assess the damage tonight.

Police confirmed no injuries were reported.