Emergency services rushed to the scene after a car smashed through the front of an ice cream parlour on Southend seafront.

Staff and customers of the Rossi’s parlour, which is independently owned but sells Rossi ice cream, were forced to flee out of the path of the black Ford Focus as it careered through the shop window, made largely of wood and glass.

One man, who was sat outside the cafe at the time described being showered with glass as the car struck.

Rob West said: "An Ederly man reversing out of a mid road parking space on the seafront, panicked when I believe a driver approached on the road too fast whilst aggressively beeping his horn.

"Instead of braking and calming down, I think he reacted by slamming his foot on the acellerator smashing through the the shop front into the café.

"We were sat next to an elderly couple outside enjoying the sun and sea and they were showered with debris and broken glass, narrowly avoiding the cars direct collision.

"The elderly man sustained a serious cut to his hand and also his elbow, possibly his hip also and we simply assisted him away from the building, along with his wife.

"I then called the emergency services, for assistance. The car in the cafe was smoking so I advised others to get out quickly in case it caught fire before liasing further with emergency services.

"Thankfully there were no serious injuries although the people on the table next to us were lucky not to have been killed."

Police closed a 600 metre stretch of road, in Western Esplanade, Southend, and fire and ambulance crews rushed to the scene to help.

The ambulance service sent two ambulances to the scene and treated people injured in the crash.

The driver, an elderly man, was thought to be parked in a bay in front of the parlour and was reversing out of the space.

The manager and staff from Rossi’s were very shaken by the incident but miraculously no one received any serious injuries.

It is believed there were only a few customers in the shop at the time and one received a cut to their arm.

The driver and his female passenger remained on scene being treated for shock by the paramedics.

Rossi sent three staff members and refrigerated vans to the scene to help the parlour staff and try to save some of the cafe owner’s ice cream stock as the building was without power.

The car was recovered by a pick-up truck by 1pm but it is unclear whether structural damage has been done to the building.