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This is the moment a car sunk in the River Thames after it was swept away by the tide in south-west London.

Student Ted Stones, 18, spotted the dark-coloured vehicle submerged in the river close to Putney Embankment at around 2pm on Wednesday.

According to witnesses, the car had been parked on a slipway before it was dragged into the river by the tide.

He said: "I couldn’t actually believe it was happening.

“It literally just started to float slowly and then the tide took it away. The police were there but literally didn’t know what to do – they were as confused as the rest of us.

“There was no sign of the owner but it was probably stupid to leave it there in high tide.”

Dog walker Nicola Kennedy, 59, also saw the moment the car went below the water.

She said: "When I came along it was already in the water.

“As I walked beside it the alarm was going off, then the boot opened and the car sunk to the bottom of the Thames.

“It was quite extraordinary. Many people were taking pictures and the police were called but they couldn’t come out in time to rescue it.

“I have never seen anything like that and I’ve lived in Putney for 30 years.”