ONLOOKERS watched in horror as a car mounted a pavement before smashing into two parked cars and a telegraph pole - inches away from a dad, his little daughter and her friend.

The pedestrians escaped serious injury by "a whisker" in notorious Eaton Road, Leigh.

A shard of glass from the wreckage was embedded in one of the girls' legs, but the seven-year-old did not need medical treatment.

One witness, who asked not to be named, said the drama could have been a lot worse: "The driver missed the two little girls by a whisker," she said. "They were walking with their dad and there was an awful lot of screaming.

"There are often a lot of kids down that road and even though it's the holidays it could've been much worse.

"There are always cars parked on both sides of the road and it's a nasty bend. That's what causes the problems."

Police closed the road as they investigated the sequence of events which led to the crash.

It is thought a blue Renault Espace, driven by a 59-year-old woman, collided with two parked vehicles, a green Citroen estate car and a white van.

The Escape ended up smashing into a telegraph pole, which fell down in a nearby front garden - missing another parked car by a couple of feet.

Emergency crews were called to the scene to deal with the wreckage.

Firefighters from Leigh also attended, after it was reported one of the cars' engines had caught fire.

The driver of the Renault was taken to Southend Hospital for treatment, but is thought to have only received minor injuries.