A car has destroyed the front fence of a house in a late night crash.

The silver Citroen crashed into the front of a property at the junction with Steli Avenue and Central Avenue on Canvey at around midnight.

Lee Turner, 42, from Central Avenue heard the crash as it happened.

Mr Turner, neighbour to the homeowner, said: "I was just checking on my boy whose room's at the front of the house and I heard a crash.

"By the time I got downstairs and out the door the occupant had left the car.

"It was still running with the keys ignition and inside the vehicle was a bit of a mess.

"I knocked on my neighbour's door to let them know what happened and they said they did not even hear it."

The incident comes just weeks after the Canvey Village memorial plaque in Canvey Road was destroyed by the driver of a blue VW Golf.

Mr Turner said these incidents have become a regular occurrence on Canvey in recent years, especially in Central Avenue.

He said: "That particular corner into Steli Avenue is a bad one.

"It has happened about five or six times according to my neighbours.

"I will be honest I have lived on Canvey all of my life and I was a bit of a tearaway when I was young but it was on main roads, but this particular junction it is a very quiet back street and we keep seeing people hacking it down this road.

"It is a bit of a concern as although my children are still a bit too young at the moment to go out and play in the street, you will see people often ripping down this road at 2pm.

"Drivers sometimes come out of Steli Avenue blind, just speeding out.

"It's as if they're using the force to guide them onto Central Avenue."

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "We were called shortly before 12.20am on Wednesday October 10 with reports a Citroen C3 had collided with a fence in Central Avenue, at the junction with Steli Avenue.

"There was no one in the car when police arrived.

"Enquiries are ongoing to locate the driver."