POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a car crashed into a church, leaving a woman seriously injured.
Officers were called at 4.13pm yesterday (July 30) following reports that a car had lost control and collided with the front of Loughton Methodist Church in the High Road, opposite the junction with Traps Hill.
A woman in her 40s from the Loughton area, who was inside the church at the time, was taken by air ambulance to Queens Hospital, Romford.
She was later transferred to the Royal London Hospital where she is being treated for injuries to her leg and pelvis. Her condition is described as stable.
The car, a black BMW, was being driven by a woman from Loughton who police say is 'badly shaken'.
Colli Toci, who works at The Olive Tree restaurant in the High Road, was in a staff meeting at the time of the incident.
He said: "All we heard was a big bang. We saw people running through the road. We went to see and then the car was in the building.
"Someone had to pull the people out and try to reverse it."
The High Road was closed until shortly before 10pm while police carried out initial investigations and a recovery firm removed the car from the scene.
Structural engineers were also called to assess damage to the church.
Any witnesses who have not yet contacted officers, or anyone with information about events leading to the crash, is asked to contact PC Dan Corr at Chigwell Road Policing Unit on 101.
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