A quick-thinking father swerved away from a head-on collision with a speeding Ford Focus which hit the side of his car.

Paul Reid, 37, had his young sons Oliver, 3, and Ben, 10-months, in the back when he saw the purple car "flying" over the bridge in Notley Road, Braintree, on the wrong side of the road.

He pulled over to the kerb but the Focus, which was stolen from Cressing an hour-and-a-half earlier, smashed into the side of his Audi A3, narrowly missing his son Ben.

Police said the family had a "miraculous escape" and the force could "easily" have been dealing with serious injuries or even fatalities following the crash at 1.30pm on Sunday.

The Focus hurtled off to hit the back of a blue Volkswagen Golf and crash into barriers outside John Ray School before the driver and three passengers scarpered.

Despite a widespread search by police ground units and the police helicopter, police failed to find the men and are appealing for more information.

See this week's Braintree Times for more.