Residents who witnessed a crash involving an Italian Pagani Zonda hypercar in Bushey on Sunday, have described their horror and sorrow at the accident which claimed the life of a man believed to be from Aldenham.

Police and paramedics were called to the roundabout by the Toby Carvery at about 6pm.

According to eyewitnesses, the car had crashed into metal fencing outside Herbert G Winfield Builders Merchants, ripping out ten concrete posts and destroying several frames of metal fencing.

The car then spun along Hartspring Lane before coming to a stop by wooden fencing close to the roundabout.

One resident said: "I’ve had real trouble sleeping since I saw the accident; it keeps replaying in my mind.

"I was out the front and heard this revving noise. It sounded a bit like one of those Japanese super bikes. Then suddenly there was this tremendous bang.

"I saw this black car come spinning down the road. All the people along this road, and people who were in the Toby Carvery, came running out to see what happened.

"There was a guy in the passenger seat, but he seemed unharmed. Initially we couldn’t see the driver, but suddenly there was someone shouting to bring blankets.

"When I looked further up the road I could see a man’s body. It was clear that he was dead, but everyone gathered around him to say a prayer for his soul.

"Our thoughts are with his family. What’s happened is terrible. I’ve been told he has a wife and daughter, so my thoughts are with them. Although what I saw was traumatic, it’s nothing in comparison to what the driver’s family must be experiencing at this time. "

A neighbouring resident described how her grandson helped free the passenger, believed to be in his 20s and the son of the driver’s best friend, from the wreckage.

She said: "The noise of the car -  it was just unbelievable. It was like listening to an airplane taking off.

"We were in the garden at the time and heard this incredible bang.

"My family came running out of the house and my grandson immediately recognised what sort of car it was.

"We rushed over and saw that the car’s doors had been ripped off, which was strange. We were looking for the driver, but couldn’t see him.

"We could see that he had hit the windscreen and initially thought he slipped into the foot well somewhere.

"But he hadn’t, he was further up the road. He must have died straight away.

"Then the next thing we knew, someone was shouting that they could see petrol leaking out of the car. My grandson immediately leapt into action and pulled him out of the passenger seat. I think a nurse had been having lunch in the Toby Carvery and she came out to assist.

"We can’t believe this has happened on our doorstep. It’s terrible, it’s upsetting."

The resident’s husband also expressed his sympathies to the deceased’s family.

"Whether he was a millionaire, a pauper, I couldn’t care less. He was a person, and what’s happened to him and his family is awful. Our thoughts are with them."

Hertfordshire Constabulary has not officially confirmed the name of the driver, but sources have revealed Aldenham resident William Baranos is said to have been behind the wheel.