AN AMBULANCE car crashed into Koh Thai restaurant in Boscombe on Thursday night leaving a diner seriously injured.

The driver of the first response vehicle was checked over by paramedics at the scene and the customer at the restaurant was rushed to Poole Hospital.

Police and ambulance were called to the scene on Christchurch Road at 6.55pm.

A statement issued by Koh Thai Tapas this morning read: “KTT would like to express their concerns for all those involved in the incident which occurred at our Boscombe restaurant yesterday evening.

“Our hearts go out to our staff, customers, the driver and our neighbours, who were affected by the collision.

“We are grateful to report that everyone has come away from the incident with only one person suffering injuries, we would like to express our concerns for him and his family at this time and wish him a speedy recovery.

“Thankfully the collision happened while our restaurant was quiet; had this occurred minutes later the damage would have been significantly worse and we fear that there would have been many more injuries of significant severity.

“Our staff reacted incredibly well to the situation and cannot be praised enough, we are incredibly proud of them.

Later in the day, the restaurant said staff had done a "great job" cleaning up and that the restaurant would be open on Friday evening.

PC Jay Griffin said: “Police are investigating a collision involving an ambulance first response vehicle colliding with the front of a restaurant.

“Two vehicles were involved in the incident- the first response vehicle and a small silver Renault.

“The ambulance driver was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure and the diner from the restaurant was also taken to hospital with serious injuries, although they are not believed to be life-threatening.”

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward and contact Dorset Police on 101.

Isil Lama, 16, who lives in the flat above Koh Thai, felt the impact as the ambulance smashed into the front window.

She said: “I was upstairs and my bed was shaking. I have been told by someone in the restaurant that a man was eating at Koh Thai and then he suddenly flew across the restaurant. “There was also a pregnant woman who was about to cross the road and she narrowly avoided being hit.

“The road is really slippery because it has been raining so maybe that had something to do with it. It’s so shocking to see an emergency vehicle through the window of a restaurant.”

One onlooker, Eva Guerra Gonzalez, said: “The diner in the restaurant was shaking really hard. I think he might have had back injuries.

“The paramedics and police cars arrived really quickly. I hope the man hasn’t been too badly hurt.”