A runaway military vehicle caused a trail of devastation after demolishing a garage and narrowly missing a family home.

The Nethercott family of Reap Lane, Portland, Dorset were about to sit down for dinner when the six-tonne bombproof Ranger armoured truck smashed their double garage to pieces and rolled to a halt just feet away from the house.

The vehicle was being moved in a nearby industrial park by manufacturers Universal Engineering when it somehow careered backwards through the park's security chain-link fencing.

It rolled across the Nethercotts' lawn and and hit their garage, throwing a shower of bricks over two parked cars.

The £1 million armoured personnel carrier is built to withstand Taliban attacks.

The vehicle has a unique "floating" crew capsule suspended above the V-shaped hull that gives it added protection from roadside bombs. In tests, its armour plating withstood the impact from explosives equivalent to double the average amount in a Taliban bomb.

A spokesman for Universal Engineering at the scene said: " It is now a police matter and it would not be right to comment at this stage".

It is understood that the company will be sending a team to help the Nethercotts clear up the trail of devastation.