An elderly driver had a lucky escape when his car lurched off the road and careered into a brick wall beside a parade of shops.

Witnesses described hearing a loud smash as the red Mercedes veered across the pavement and knocked down a bus stand sign before hitting the side wall.

The car was travelling along Friern Barnet Road near the roundabout linking Bowes Road and Oakleigh Road South at about midday yesterday when the driver lost control.

Police and paramedics were called to the scene but the male driver, believed to be in his 70s, did not require hospital treatment.

Richard Hindes was working in the Ethos Imaging shop when the saloon smashed into the brick wall of an alleyway next door.

He said: “We heard a big smash but didn’t realise it was so close at first. We went outside and the car was just there. The driver was a bit shaken but luckily not injured.

“It was quite difficult to work out what happened. There was glass in the road so whether he shunted another car before veering off, we weren’t sure.

“It was a good job the bus sign was there as it would have slowed him down and stopped him going straight through the glass front of our shop.

“He was lucky too there was no-one walking along the pavement as it’s a busy road. It could have been a lot worse but he walked away from it, which is the main thing.”

Transport for London engineers were sent out to repair the bus stand, which is used as a stop-off point for drivers to change vehicles rather than a pick-up for passengers, and the scene was cleared within two hours.

It is understood police took no further action against the driver.