A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a car hit a pub in Essex.

The victim, a 36-year-old man, died at the scene after a white Nissan Qashqai crashed into the Spinnaker pub in Colchester.

A 34-year-old man was taken to hospital with life-changing injuries, Essex police said.

Two other people, a 34-year-old woman and 33-year-old man, were also taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Police were called to the pub in Hythe Quay shortly after 12.50am on Sunday. The area was closed for about seven hours after the incident and reopened at 9am.

The arrested man has also been detained on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, death by dangerous driving and assault.

Officers have asked anyone who saw a white Nissan Qashqai in the area or was in the pub at the time of the incident to come forward. Anyone with information or video footage is asked to call 101, quoting incident 63 of 3 November.

A neighbour said: “I heard there were two people in the car, and a lady in the car was having a panic attack.”

A man who gave his name as Sean said his friend was one of the casualties and had been helicoptered to hospital with two broken legs, two broken hips and possibly a broken sternum.

“I was devastated, absolutely devastated,” he said. “He has injuries from the waist down, and someone was saying maybe head injuries, but I’m waiting for updates at the moment. He was with a group of about four people. All I know is the car just ploughed straight into the pub.”

Essex police said a female who had been in the car had been taken to hospital with minor injuries. The force added that formal identification of the victim had not yet taken place.