A giant teacup at a popular tourist attraction launched straight into a crowd of people and injured three when it came loose from a ride on Saturday night.

The teacup flew struck people lining up to ride the fairground attraction at the event at Leeds Castle in Kent.

On-site paramedics rushed to the scene to attend to three people who were injured after becoming trapped under the teacup, and a witness described seeing a girl with a neck injury who was violently shaking.

The witness, Dee Sturgess, said she was just minutes away from getting on the ride with her three-year-old daughter but had moved on after she noticed that it kept stopping.

Ms Sturgess, of St Mary's Island, Kent, said: "We were stood at the hook a duck stall when I heard screaming coming from the teacup ride which was just 15 feet away from us.

"I could see that there was a teacup that had left the ride base and was spinning through the air and it hit the people that were watching the children on the ride.

"The ride continued to move and everyone was screaming. I could not believe my own eyes."