A PEDESTRIAN was inches away from serious injury or death when a runaway people carrier hit parked cars in Church Street, Malvern.

The Mazda people carrier was coming down the street when it hit a red Ford Fiesta parked outside the butcher's shop at about 11.25am today (Friday, July 17).

The Fiesta hit a red Fiat Punto SX parked in front of it, and both smashed into the front of the Emerald Grove shop Julie Burton, proprietor of the Emerald Grove, was with shop assistant Michelle Gordon when the crash happened.

She said: "There was a lady looking in our window and the car hit the shop front six inches from where she was standing.

"We were both quite shocked but we were more concerned that nobody had been hurt. That lady was so close it was miraculous that she was not killed to be honest."

The people carrier continued down Church Street until it stopped by the entrance to Church Walk, said eyewitnesses. The occupants were said to be an elderly couple.

Police, fire engines and an ambulance attended, though no-one was taken to hospital.

For more details, see next week's Malvern Gazette.