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A woman narrowly avoided being crushed after a van swerved into the front of a kebab shop.

The removal van smashed into Best Kebab on Victoria Park Road, Hackney, shortly after 1pm this afternoon.

A picture taken at the scene by Michael Willis showed the vehicle mounted on the pavement with firefighters working to remove it.

He wrote on Twitter: "Man makes new drive-thru in Victoria Road Park Road chicken shop".

Lauren Jones, owner of nearby Amandine café, said a female pedestrian was lucky to escape unscathed in the accident.

She said the van driver only suffered minor injuries.

She said: "There was a woman who I believe he almost hit. She scarpered. People helped her but she just wanted to go."

"Someone went out to get the man out of the van. He looked completely dazed. He had a grazed head. He looked completely freaked out."

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A local builder worked quickly to ensure the site was safe until firefighters arrived, she said.

Traders reported smelling petrol coming from the scene.

Ms Jones said:"Petrol was leaking underneath the van. It hit the gas pipes at the front of the shop."

Bulent Ganiuali, who works in the kebab shop, said the incident had caused "big damage" to the takeaway but confirmed no one was seriously hurt.

A spokeswoman for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said crews were called at 1.03pm to reports of a collision between a motor van and a motorbike.

She said firefighters had finished working at the scene within 30 minutes.

The road was closed for a short time but has since re-opened, Transport for London (TfL) said.