A German motorist missed a bend in the road, hurtled up a bank and "took off" into the roof of a church, in an accident which police said was unlike any they had ever seen.
Police in the east German state of Saxony said that the bank acted like a springboard, propelling the black Skoda 115ft through the air and straight into the building's roof frame, where it remained wedged seven metres off the ground.
“We’ve never ever had a case of a car landing in a church before,” said Frank Fischer, a spokesman for Chemnitz police. He said that excessive speed was a possible cause for the accident while officers were also testing the driver for alcohol.
The 23-year-old was being treated in hospital today for serious injuries, while the car - which was extracted from the roof by a crane - had suffered around £13,000 of damage.
The cost to repair the church roof has not yet been estimated.