My wife has flooded the engine (in your pool)

They are called off-road vehicles and the joke in Chelsea is that they never go further than just off the King's Road.

But Mimi Campanella certainly put her 4X4 through its paces when she went for a driving lesson with her husband.

Mrs Campanella lost control at a junction, crashed through a fence and careered across a patio into a swimming pool.

The result was huge shock to Mrs Campanella and her husband Pat - and a bit of a surprise to home owner Katherine Peacock.

She watched as the vehicle slowly sank to the bottom of her pool in Honolulu, Hawaii. "I thought I was dreaming," said 80-year-old Mrs Peacock. "I was so shaken up."

The Campanellas stayed inside the Toyota Highlander as it filled with water.

"As we landed in the pool, I remembered a movie and I waited for the water to fill the car and then I opened the door," said Mr Campanella, 56. Letting water in equalises the pressure, allowing the door to fully open.

He pushed his wife out and helped her to the side of the pool. They were not injured and the car remained there until it was lifted out after two attempts by a truck equipped with a crane. The salvage operation cost an estimated £2,800.

Mrs Campanella was shaken by the incident and doctors advised her to get back to driving. Her husband, however, said she would probably take some convincing.

So would Mrs Peacock.