A MAN had to be rescued when his car went through the front of a house in Colchester with neighbours saying the crash "sounded like a bomb had gone off".

The man's car went through the front of a house in Duncan Road, Colchester on Wednesday afternoon after the driver reportedly had a medical episode.

He was rescued by firefighters who removed the rear seat of the car so they could carry the man out on a stretcher.

He was freed from the car and cared for by the ambulance service by 4.16pm.

The ambulance service confirmed there was one ambulance, one ambulance officer vehicle and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance in attendance.

The man was transported to Colchester General Hospital by road ambulance for further assessment and care.

Gazette: Aftermath: the house is now boarded upAftermath: the house is now boarded up (Image: ECFRS/ Newsquest)

The house is now boarded up and will need significant repairs to restore it.

A photograph of the incident shows almost the entirety of the red car in the front of the house.

A neighbour was inside his house with his children and dog when the car crashed.

He said: “We have been told that the driver of the car had a medical episode which caused him to lose control of the vehicle.

Gazette: Rescue: a man was rescued from his carRescue: a man was rescued from his car (Image: ECFRS)

“I was upstairs at the time and it sounded like a bomb had gone off.

“I was terrified for my kids who were sat downstairs and all I could think was that it could have been a lot worse.

“I just keep thinking imagine if it happened during half term. We were lucky really because if the car went into our front room it could have been serious.

“The fact that this happened around school run time too made me think about how bad it could have been.

“Luckily our neighbours weren’t in at the time so nobody was harmed inside the house."

The neighbour said they had been told the man involved suffered minor injuries. 

He added: “It was a long afternoon and evening and we all felt quite on edge afterwards.

“Our upstairs windows were closed but they popped open because of the impact.

“Luckily the man in the car came away from the incident with minimal injuries, just a scratch on his arm is what I heard.”