A man is in hospital with a life-threatening condition after crashing his car through the front of a Halstead bakery.

Emergency Services were called to Hume's Bakery on the High Street at around 9.30pm last night, after reports of a serious incident involving a grey Renault Laguna.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found that a car had crashed through the bakery's front entrance and the driver of the vehicle, said to be a man in his 40s, was still trapped inside the car.

By 10pm the firefighters had managed to release the driver and then remained at the scene until a structural  engineer confirmed the building was safe and secure. 

The casualty was left in the care of the Ambulance Service.

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: ''We were called to reports of a single-vehicle collision in High Street, Halstead, at 9.30pm on May 12.

''The driver of a Renault Laguna, a man aged in his 40s, has been taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition.

No arrests have been made.''

The owners of Hume's Bakery, who worked throughout the night to clean up the debris, also issued a short statement on their Facebook page following the smash.

They said: ''Due to an incident involving the shop last night, Hume’s are not open today (13th May), we hope to reopen tomorrow.

We apologise for any inconvenience.''

More information to follow.