A runaway car rolled 100 yards through a village street and ploughed into an 18th century former library and meeting room.

An empty Citroen Xantia rolled down a slope in The Street, Stisted, near Braintree, into the historic Montefiore Institute.

Witnesses saw the car hit a kerb and flip up before punching a hole in the building. No one was injured.

The incident happened just minutes before children were due to leave nearby Stisted Primary School at around 3pm on Tuesday.

Gordon Cant said: "I was pulling out of my driveway when I saw this car going backwards at around 10mph. It hit a kerb, flipped up a bit and made a hole in the building.

"Fortunately it happened just before the schoolkids came out. There was not many people about or it would have been worse.

"The woman who owned the car was very upset and she was being consoled by other parents."

The incident has thrown two major community projects into disarray because of safety fears.

Stisted Parish Council was due to launch a cybercafe at the institute next month in the village after the youth club and library closed.

The new cybercafe was also to be the venue for a rural IT initiative for people in Stisted and surrounding parishes.

Braintree Technology Centre administrator Andrea Bennett, said: "It's very frustrating. We were due to start on Tuesday so it's come as a blow.

"We will now be holding the classes at Braintree Technology Centre but we'll be arranging to transport the students by taxi."

The hole has since been boarded up and support beams have been installed at the building.

A Braintree Council spokeswoman said the cost of the damage was soon to be assessed. Police are not investigating the accident.

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