A freak single-car accident has wreaked havoc in a Waitrose car park, forcing police to close off part of the site.

Officers are at the scene outside the store in Hythe, with the Toyota RAV4 embedded in a pile of trolleys.

The driver of the red plug-in hybrid looks to have lost control while approaching the exit of the car park.

It has flattened a lamppost and careered into a trolley bay, demolishing the structure and destroying a number of the wheeled metal containers.

The 2022-registered car, which retails at more than £20,000, has lost its front bumper in the incident.

It has also collided with a Toyota Yaris that had been parked in a bay, with at least two bent trolleys in between the two vehicles.

One shocked passer-by said: "The destruction is quite staggering – the lamppost and trolley cover have been completely destroyed.

"While I can't be sure, it looks like the car was leaving the car park at the time so I have absolutely no idea how they managed to get up the speed to cause that level of damage.

"I just hope nobody was seriously hurt."

This is not the first time an out-of-control car has caused chaos in a car park.

In November 2021, another trolley bay paid the price after a Vauxhall Astra ploughed into it – and three cars – in a bizarre crash at Ashford's Bybrook Sainsbury's.

A shocked witness said: "Everything happened so fast, it was so lucky no one was putting their trolley in there at the time."