A driver who left a trail of devastation before plummeting on to the patio of a basement flat was today being questioned by police.

Witnesses watched in horror as the BMW convertible sped across a junction, clipped a passing car and demolished a garden wall before flying into the front of the Regency building.

The car's airbag was activated, saving the driver's life as the vehicle dropped more than 5ft to the ground.

People living in Norfolk Terrace, Brighton, said the motor's tremendous revving had sounded like a low-flying plane.

They described how the car sped up the 30mph-limit street, hit a Ford Focus as it jumped the junction with Temple Gardens and then blasted through the wall smashing into the front of York Mansions.

Bricks from the garden wall flew through kitchen windows in the ground-floor flat.

Ann Sparks, who rents the flat, said: "I got home to find this car had crashed down.

"I don't know what to think really. I'm just shocked. I'm just sweeping up the glass and plaster in my kitchen.

"I'm trying to get through to the landlord to let him know."

Lee Lewis, 26, a roofer was on his way to his flat in Windlesham Road when he saw the crash.

He said: "I heard this incredible noise. I thought it was an aeroplane coming down.

"I turned round and saw the BMW racing up Norfolk Terrace. The driver seemed to have his head resting on the wheel.

"Then I heard a bang. It was like a bomb going off or a gas explosion.

"I ran back round and saw the BMW had gone through the wall. The horn was going off non-stop."

One witness, whose home overlooks the crash scene, said: "I heard the BMW come up the hill at high speed, doing what sounded like 6,000 revs.

"The engine was so loud that at first I thought it was a motorbike.

"I went to the window because I thought it might have been a police chase or even a get-away car.

"I saw the BMW go straight across the junction without braking.

"It crashed into the front of another car, went through a wall and then disappeared down a drop.

"There's no question the airbag saved the driver's life.

"There's a school just yards up the road and there are often children walking by. It's very lucky no one else was hurt."

The driver managed to climb out of the car and neighbours described how he appeared to lie down and go to sleep as ambulance and fire crews raced to the scene.

He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.