A man fears he could have been killed had he been at home relaxing in his usual "chilling area" when a car crashed into his house.

Mario Lleshi, 22, said he had been at work at the time of the crash but would normally have been relaxing in the back room of the house he rents on Upper Road in Shrewsbury.

That room is now just rubble with only the supporting walls in place. Lleshi said: "Maybe I would be dead by now, or probably badly injured in the hospital."

West Mercia Police said there had been no reported injuries and it was investigating.

The force said it was called to the property at 13:38 GMT on Saturday.

Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution because of a reported gas leak.

Lleshi said he returned from work at about 18:00 GMT, unaware of the incident.

He said he saw the road was closed so parked his car and walked down to see what had happened.

"I just see the car in my house," he said.

He also discovered firefighters had knocked down his front door to get to the main gas line.

Two streets were closed for several hours and residents reported a strong smell of gas following the crash.

The police said a refuge area was established at Meole Brace Bowling Club for residents who had needed to leave their homes.

They were able to return when the cordon was lifted just before 16:00 GMT.

Lleshi has been living in the house for just six months, but said it was "lovely area".

He said he had been told by the police that the driver was also unhurt and added: "Thank God I wasn't here or nobody was here and nobody got injured."

He has been reassured his landlord will arrange for the damage to be fixed and said it was just "an unfortunate thing" that had happened.

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