A car ended up on its roof after a crash that forced emergency services to close the road.

The two-car crash took place at about 5.30pm today (Friday, March 17), in Delaware Road, near Shoebury High School and traffic was diverted while the scene was dealt with.

The aunt of the 28-year-old driver, who has asked not to be named, said everyone is just relieved they are ok.

She said: "That road is very narrow and you can only fit one car down there because of the parking.

"My nephew was driving with my daughter and her friend in the car. As he drove down Delaware Road, the black car travelling in the opposite direction pulled out from behind a parked car and clipped my nephew, causing it to flip onto its roof."

Police and fire were on the scene and closed the road for about an hour while the vehicles were moved.

The 28-year-old driver and his two teenage passengers were able to escape the vehicle without injury but were left shaken after the crash.

The driver's aunt added: "My daughter who is only 13 was very scared. She rang me up crying and told me what had happened.

"She said the car had flipped and she was scared it was going to set on fire.

"We're just glad everyone is ok and they got out safely. It could have been a lot worse.

"I know some people have said speeding might have been involved but my nephew was not speeding. The police agreed that speed wasn't a factor.

"We've lost the car. It was my husband's car. My nephew just borrowed it to drop the kids off at their friend's house.

"It's a complete write off which is devastating because we were going to go on holiday this year but now it doesn't look like we will be able to afford it."

One resident who lives in Delaware Road believes parking is the cause of the problem.

Mandy Birkin, 35, said: "It was just outside our flat. We heard the smash and rushed out to see if everyone was ok. I was so relieved no one was hurt.

"We see parking causing problems all the time down that road because people can't wait and just pull out. I've never seen a crash before but a lot of near misses.

"I don't think it needs to be one way but parking needs to be sorted if there was a way to do that. It's what causes the problems I believe."