Shocked witnesses have described the moment a car went out of control in the centre of Shrewsbury, crossing a busy road and injuring five pedestrians.

Maxwell Hodson, a locum pharmacist from Telford who was in Rhodes Chemist in Claremont Hill, went out of the shop after hearing yesterday’s collision to see a middle aged woman and a boy in his teens lying injured in Claremont Hill.

“The lady was badly hurt. The lad was with friends and his brother and two had jumped out of the way of the car,” he said.

Kerrie Titley, who was working in Chinese takeaway Soy Oriental Express at the bottom of the hill when the incident happened, said: “The whole building shook and I didn’t know what it was. The car was going really fast.”

Her co-worker Brian Isaac said the door had flown off the vehicle as it passed the shop.

Helen Butler, receptionist at Halls, said it had been a frightening experience.

She said: “I heard it all. It sounded like scaffolding had fallen to the ground. We just looked out of the window and saw the car and people rushed out to help.”

Charles Lloyd, a fish and chip shop owner from Baschurch, said the noise of the collision had sounded like a light aircraft about to crash.

Emma Hughes and David Evans, who were outside their shop Open All Flowers, said they saw the car as it built up speed backwards before coming to a rest in Barker Street where construction work has been taking place.

Mr Evans said: “We had just stepped outside and saw this car coming down Claremont Hill really, really fast in reverse. He flew straight across the road and we saw the bin flying out of the way. He just flew straight into the site.”

His business partner added that it was fortunate more people were not hurt in the incident. The car came to a stop after going through a hoarding put up around Claremont Baptist Church in Barker Street, where about 15 workers from Morris Property were on site.

Site manager John McKay said the workers had ‘rushed to the aid’ of the driver.