A man in a parked car narrowly escaped death last night when tonnes of scaffolding crashed down around him.

The huge metal structure collapsed in Cambridge Road, Battersea, at around 7.30pm amid heavy rain and high winds.

A woman who lives opposite said: "I heard a loud bang at around 7.30pm. It sounded like thunder.

"I saw the scaffolding fall on to a car that contained a father."

Mark Francis, 44, who lives two doors down from the house where the scaffolding was erected, saw it fall on the man’s car and rushed outside to help.

He said: "The scaffolding fell slowly down. A man was parked up.

"It crashed down on top of him; his engine was still switched on. He shouted "I’m alright, I’m alright".

"The community is in shock, I’m relieved no one got hurt. It spread across the entire road and on to both pavements."

Three cars and a moped were severely damaged in the incident.

The front and back of a Mercedes that had been parked across the street were severely dented.

The back window had been smashed, along with the rented car of a neighbour, who said: "There were two sets of scaffolding.

"My entire windscreen was smashed. I have a hired car, so I need to talk to the company about it. I may have to pay for the damage myself."

Another neighbour said: "It happened in slow motion. The wind blew out the top part of the scaffolding. It hit a lamp post and bent it. If people had been in traffic they would have been killed."

The road remained closed until 11.30pm last night while debris was cleared and the scaffolding removed.

It is not yet know what caused the collapse. Wandsworth Council had an investigator on the scene last night.