A driver left a trail of devastation after her 4x4 tore through five gardens and crashed inches away from a house in Wallington.

The woman miraculously escaped without serious injury after her car careered off-road and into gardens behind homes in Plough Lane just after 5.30pm yesterday.

Police, paramedics and fire crews were all sent to the scene.

The driver, a woman in her mid-50s, suffered minor neck injuries and a passenger, a woman in her mid-30s, was unhurt.

Your Local Guardian: Car plough's through back gardens in Plough Lane, Wallington

The driver careered off road and through a fence

Samantha Valentine-Rugg, 40, of Plough Lane, said it was lucky no one had been killed.

She said: “I was out at the time to pick my children up from a play group and I came home to the mess.

“It ripped through the back of my neighbour’s garden after it had gone through five gardens before that.

“I am so amazed no one was seriously hurt. Life is all about timing and I’m so grateful we were out at the time.

“If it had been a school day my son would be playing with his ball and my daughter would be on the trampoline. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”

“I was quite proud of my little garden, but the car tore through the fence, my flowers and, well, everything really.”

The accounts assistant said the crash showed safety measures should be installed in the road.

She added: “This has been an accident waiting to happen. Cars come over the bridge too fast and might not know there is a sharp bend in the road.

“This is the worst that has happened, but we’ve had a few near misses in the past.

“The council should really do something like install speed bumps, or barriers on the side of the road because we might not be as lucky next time.”

Police shut Plough Lane following the crash but it has since reopened. No arrests were made.