A grandmother's car was blown off the M25 motorway and 25ft up an embankment by a huge blast of wind.

Joan Youell's Toyota Yaris ploughed into trees and shrubs at the top of the embankment, close to the Sevenoaks turn-off.

Mrs Youell, 64, of Letheren Place, Eastbourne, fought to control the car as it rolled over twice before coming to rest on its wheels on the hard shoulder, facing oncoming traffic.

She emerged from the wreckage with a slight knee injury and refused offers of hospital treatment.

Mrs Youell said: "I didn't feel the gust. I was just driving along and the next thing I know I'm facing a green wall.

"I just pushed myself back in the seat and tried to steer the best I could.

"The noise of breaking glass around me was horrifying. All I could see were green bushes and trees until the windscreen smashed and it all went black."

Witnesses to the 55mph accident were amazed as they saw the £7,700 Yaris take off and disappear into the trees before rolling back down the bank.

Horrified drivers feared an explosion as smoke belched from the engine.

Mrs Youell, who had been driving back from a funeral in London, had to clamber out of a window because the doors were jammed.

The pensioner said it was her first accident in 42 years of driving.

She said: "I'm all right now, although the car's a write-off."

Argus weatherman Ken Woodhams said: "You don't often hear of cars being blown over. It is normally high-sided vehicles that catch the gusts of wind.

"It was very windy on Friday with winds varying from west to north-west.

"This car must have got caught by a squall. A gust can suddenly hit an area and that is probably what happened in this case."