A 23-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly driving a stolen car into a church wall while drunk.

The driver is accused of smashing the 2010 BMW 2 Series into brickwork outside St Patrick's Church in Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, on Sunday (April 17) at 2.40am.

No other vehicle is thought to have been involved.

A police spokeswoman said that the car was badly damaged in the crash.

She added: "On arrival [at the scene] officers were expecting the occupants to have serious injuries, however the driver and the passenger escaped uninjured.

"The driver was taken to hospital as a precaution and following this he was taken into custody at an east London police station."

He was arrested on suspicion of driving while disqualified, taking and driving away a car, not having insurance and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The man has been bailed and is due to return to police on Wednesday June 1.

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