A CAR careered off the road and smashed into a public toilet block off Wellington town centre earlier this afternoon.

Fire crews in four engines were called to the incident in Longforth Road shortly after 3.30pm.

The driver had managed to get out of the vehicle, which was "smoking" by the time firefighters arrived on the scene.

The building was deemed "unstable" so Acrow props were put in place to hold it up.

A structural engineer from the council and police attended and arrangements were made to recover the vehicle.

A Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "Initially there were concerns there may have been someone inside the toilets.

"So firefighters gained access, but fortunately discovered there was no one inside."

The building was then shored up using a winch to pull the vehicle clear and make it safe.