Two British tourists were injured when they crashed into a restaurant in Thailand.

Driver Jack Richard Tenny, 50, was returning home from dinner when a stray cat is to have darted in front of his BMW on the island of Phuket.

Jack claimed he veered off the road to avoid the feline but smashed into the kitchen of a roadside shop in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police said they were notified of the accident at 2:45 am local time. They found a part of the restaurant had collapsed, with the luxury sedan buried under zinc roof sheets.

Jack suffered minor injuries while his wife, Danielle, 47, injured her head from hitting the windscreen. They were taken to the Dibuk Hospital for treatment.

Police Lieutenant Watcharakorn Suwan, deputy investigator at the Wichit Police Station, said: 'Both the driver and the passenger are British tourists, not residents. The driver is 50 years old, and the injured female passenger is 47.

'The driver said he swerved to avoid a cat and lost control before crashing into the shop. The wife wasn't seriously injured, she received treatment but was not hospitalized.

'We are still assessing the full extent of the damage and checking if there are any CCTV cameras around the area.

'As for whether alcohol is involved, it is under investigation. We had the driver tested for blood alcohol level at the hospital.'

Restaurant owner Tu said she was sleeping when she was jolted awake by a crash.

Her brother, Rattana Phupobthong, 37, said: 'At around 2:30 am, we were asleep when we suddenly heard a car crash into the shop.

‘We rushed out and saw the front of the shop completely wrecked.

‘The foreign driver emerged from the car and he called his Thai friend to help interpret because we couldn't communicate properly due to the language barrier.

‘His friend told us the driver swerved to avoid a cat that ran across the road.

‘There was a smell of marijuana in their car, but the driver didn't seem high. He was still able to talk normally. The insurance company hasn't arrived yet.

‘Based on the damage to the shop's equipment, cooking gear, exhaust system, and ingredients, we estimate the damage to be at least 200,000 baht.

‘We've had to close the shop for now. Normally, we make over 10,000 baht a day, and now that's all gone. The driver hasn't apologised or discussed compensation with us yet. We're planning to file a police report and submit a full list of damages this afternoon.'

(1 GBP = 44.75 THB)