A pregnant woman, an elderly couple and three netball players escaped serious injury when a runaway cement mixer skidded across a busy road causing mayhem.

The machinery flew off the back of a trailer, which had been approaching the A420 from the Bampton direction near Buckland, and collided with a car on Wednesday night.

A blue Land Rover seen pulling the trailer failed to stop at the scene.

Last night police confirmed they were hunting the driver and issued an appeal for witnesses.

Miraculously, no one suffered serious injuries in the smash on the busy Oxford to Swindon road.

Marlene Snow, 65, from Bampton, was driving along the A420 with friends Andrea Wellington, from Faringdon, and Katie Clarke, from Carswell Marsh, when the mixer smashed into the front of her Nissan X-Trail.

The friends, who are all members of Shrivenham Netball Club, were travelling to a match in Banbury.

Mrs Snow said she was no more than 20 metres from the junction when she spotted the mixer.

She said: "It flew like a bobsleigh. It clipped the front of the car and pulled me towards the middle of the road where vehicles were ready to turn to Bampton.

"I tried to pull back to the correct side of the road, but I hit an elderly couple's car.

"I didn't know at the time it was a cement mixer, I just saw an orange rusty shape hurtling across the road.

"It could have been so much worse. If it had hit the side of my car, it would have probably killed my friend."

The mixer came to rest in front of a blue VW Golf driven by heavily pregnant woman Victoria Pattison.

Ms Wellington, who suffered whiplash, was forced to take the day off work yesterday.

She said: "I was in the back. I saw the mixer coming at such a speed - it was really going fast. I closed my eyes. I knew we were going to hit something.

The Nissan struck a Toyota Yaris driven by pensioner Harry Benford, 82, from Kennington, who was taking wife Eunice out for dinner to celebrate her 82nd birthday.

He said: "Sparks flew and a mixer came careering across the road - my wife was left very shaken."

Ms Pattison, from Watchfield, said she felt lucky not to have been hit by the mixer.

She urged police to track down the driver of the Land Rover who failed to stop.

She said: "I was fine - I was more worried about the elderly couple.

"I can't believe the driver failed to stop."

Call police on 08458 505050 or 0800 555111.