A car smashed into an electricity sub-station in Worthing last night, cutting off power to 1,400 homes.

As houses were plunged into darkness, one passer-by risked electrocution by pulling the driver out of his vehicle.

It happened just after 7pm when the man's automatic Mazda estate car slammed through the gates of the sub-station next to the Assembly Hall in Stoke Abbott Road.

Assembly Hall worker David Lamb pulled him from the car before the power had been turned off.

One firefighter at the scene said: "Somebody went in, unlocked the boot and pulled him out without thinking. If the man had touched the bodywork of the car, 11,000 volts would have gone through him.

"He should have left him, but human instinct says help him out. The man who helped him out was very brave, but he should have waited until the power was off."

Mr Lamb said: "The driver said his foot slipped off the brake and he accelerated through the doors. He was lucky he didn't fry in there.

"His wife, who he had just dropped off for the show, said, 'My husband's in there, my husband's in there'. We went in and could see him scrambling about but he couldn't get out.

"I opened the boot and got him away from the building. There was a nurse who happened to be there and she looked after him while I got people away from the area.

"When I looked at the car I couldn't see any electricity arcing and I did it all very slowly and made sure I had a good look around before I did anything.

"I was more concerned about the chap. If he'd got the boot open and started stumbling around in the sub station, anything could have happened."

The elderly driver of the car was taken to Worthing Hospital for a check up. He is not thought to have been injured.

Leading Firefighter John Barker said: "Luckily neither man was in contact with the car.

"It seems the natural thing to do to get them out of the car, but he should have been told to sit still. We could have ended up with two people electrocuted."

The crash cut power to 1,400 homes and businesses in the immediate area.

A Seeboard spokeswoman said 1,200 were reconnected within 45 minutes.

Another 94 had their power restored by 8.45pm while the rest had to wait until the early hours.