A customer sitting in a popular Hitchin town centre café when a car crashed through its windows this morning praised the stoicism of those who narrowly escaped serious injury.

The Comet: A car has crashed into the Café Rouge restaurant in Hitchin High Street this morning. Picture: Ros DownA car has crashed into the Café Rouge restaurant in Hitchin High Street this morning. Picture: Ros Down (Image: Archant)

Emma McKenzie from the town was having a coffee in Café Rouge at around 9.45am this morning when a grey Ford Focus driven by a man in his 70s smashed through the windows of the French bistro on High Street.

Emma told the Comet: “Firstly I am so relieved no-one was seriously injured. That is the main thing.

“I was behind a table next to the window. A few minutes earlier people had been drinking coffee at that table and had left.

“Two young woman came in afterwards and would have sat there if it had been cleared, but they sat at the front table on the other side instead.

“I was sitting there chatting when I heard an almighty bang – I looked up to see a car coming through the windows.

“Then there was a crashing of glass as the car went through the windows.

“If those girls had chosen to sit at the table in front of me it could have been a far more serious incident – I’m so glad everyone was fine.

“We just sat there stunned for a few seconds staring at this car that had come through the window.

“Once we realised no-one was hurt and that the driver was OK, people got up to pay before leaving – which I suppose is such a terribly stoic English thing to do.

“The main thing is that no-one was hurt.”

The ambulance service confirmed the elderly driver was being treated at the scene for minor injuries but no-one else was hurt.