A MAN this afternoon pleaded guilty to crashing a car into a Christchurch house.

Neil Kavanagh from Beaufort Road in Southbourne, admitted aggravated vehicle taking and three other motoring charges, including failing to give a breath specimen.

The 28-year-old was remanded in custody at Bournemouth Magistrates court until sentencing at the Crown Court on March 28.

Kavanagh was driving his girlfriend's Red Ford Fiesta when it demolished part of a house in Purewell. His defence told the hearing a tyre burst.

Neighbours had described the sound as sickening' and like a bomb going off' when the car hit the terrace house at just after 5am on Sunday.

The impact destroyed the front right hand corner of the building and left bricks and rubble strewn into the road.

A surveyor was due to assess the extent of structural damage.

It is not the first time a building on Purewell has been hit by a car. Three years ago nearby Faborgé Flowers needed repairs after it was struck by a car.

And a car hit the Salisbury Arms on the same road last year.

Sue Small, who owns the florist, said: "It's a busy road, but I'm surprised it has happened again."