Car smashes shop window

An 81-year-old Whangarei woman thought her vehicle was in reverse when she launched forward and smashed through the front window of a supermarket.

The woman had loaded up her black four-wheel-drive car with her groceries and prepared to reverse out of her parking spot when things went horribly wrong about 1pm yesterday.

The vehicle rocketed forward over the footpath and into the steel bars in front of the main shop windows of Kensington Countdown. The bars were not enough to stop the vehicle from shattering two glass panels.

Whangarei police Sergeant Tai Patrick said fortunately there were no customers in front of the window or passing the window near the Lotto counter inside the store at the time.

"If there had been they would have been covered in shattered glass," he said. "She wasn't injured either and was quite jovial."

The four-by-four vehicle was nearly new, Mr Patrick said. The front of the vehicle suffered moderate damage and it was driven away by the woman's son.

Mr Patrick said it was likely the woman would be charged with careless driving.

Countdown Kensington store manager Craig Unsworth said staff phoned for an ambulance immediately but thankfully the woman was not injured.

"We have thousands of customers using the car park every week, so while there is the occasional accident, this is very rare. We're working to fix the windows and safety guard as soon as possible and it's been boarded up in the meantime."