A CAR which failed to stop for a police check careered off the road and smashed into a house in Evesham.

The blue Vauxhall Cavalier left the road just past traffic lights on Cheltenham Road, went over a garden, through a hedge, hit a porch and crashed into a neighbour's car port at about 2.50pm on Tuesday.

Martin Bloom, aged 45, whose porch was severely damaged by the car, said: "I first knew something had happened by the sheer noise of the impact."

Mr Bloom said he was at the back of the house when the car clipped a front wall and collided with the porch.

"It was a real shock at the time and my family were also very shocked when they came home. My daughters were quite shaken by it all.

"It's miraculous that no-one was killed, the car missed my car by inches and it's caused an awful lot of damage that will probably cost thousands to put right."

He also said that structural engineers had removed part of the damaged porch, including a supporting pillar, and put in props to hold the roof in place.

The road was closed for three hours and the three occupants of the car were taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital. The rear seat passenger, a 23-year-old man, who has not been named, was airlifted to hospital by the County Air Ambulance after he complained of neck and back pain.

Two men were released from hospital at about 7.30pm the same day and were arrested on suspicion of taking a vehicle and going equipped to steal. They were later released on police bail pending further inquiries. A third man was arrested after being released from hospital yesterday on suspicion of taking a vehicle without consent and theft from a store. He was also released on police bail. West Mercia Police press officer Kim Stain said: "Officers in a police vehicle had just sighted it when it was involved in the collision. As they saw it, it went off the road."