A bystander who saw a car flip on to its side terrifying school children said she thought it would blow up.

The car flipped on to its side in Meads Lane, Seven Kings at about 3.30pm this afternoon.

Nayan Chauhan, 42, of Meads Lane, said: “The car was on its side and the petrol was leaking. Me and another guy managed to get the door open and then I told the lady to climb on to the steering wheel so I could pull her up.”

He said he then sat the woman in front of his house while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

“The fire brigade turned up and dealt with the leaking petrol. They came and put sand over it.

“I just couldn’t believe it. The car was going so slow - I didn’t expect it to flip over.”

Another witnesses Kapila Balla, 41, Meads Lane, added: “The car flipped over. When I saw the petrol coming out of the black car I thought it was going to blow up.”

Two buses full of school children witnessed the incident causing many of them to panic.

Arjun Kharpal, 21, of Meads Lane, said: “There was a bunch of school children screaming. They had been on the bus. Then they calmed down as the emergency services arrived.”

A fire engine, ambulance and police car all attended the scene.

The incident has caused a large amount of traffic in both directions.