A car thief has crashed a stolen Jaguar into a house and left it embedded in the living room.
The car went through the front porch and a window at the house as the occupants slept upstairs.
The accident happened shortly after the Jaguar was taken from an address in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, along with a Fiat Punto, at about 2.40am.
The driver appeared to have lost control and smashed into the property in Lingholme, in the Wynyard estate area of the town, before fleeing, said Acting Inspector Dave Tweddle.
''Fortunately the occupants of the house were upstairs when the vehicle hit and were not injured,'' he said.
''However it is possible that the driver of the stolen Jaguar who fled the scene may be hurt.''
He urged any witnesses to come forward. It is understood the Jaguar will remain embedded in the house for much of the day while the extent of structural damage to the building is assessed.
The two cars were stolen from outside a house in Falstone Drive, Chester-le-Street.
The Fiat was later found abandoned in the Wynyard estate.
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