A German motorist missed a bend in the road, broke through a barrier and hurtled up a bank, crash-landing on a church roof in eastern Germany, police said on Monday.

The bank acted like a springboard, propelling the black Skoda about 35 metres (115 ft) forward and straight into the church's roof frame, where it remained wedged 7 metres off the ground, police said in a statement.

We've never ever had a case of a car landing in a church before, said Frank Fischer, a spokesman for Chemnitz police in the state of Saxony.

The 23-year-old driver suffered serious injuries. The damage to the car, which was extracted from the roof by a crane, amounts to about 10,000 euros (9,340 pound), police said. The cost of damage to the church has not yet been estimated.

Police said speed was a possible cause for the accident, which happened late on Sunday.

Germany