A magician performed his greatest escape act yet after miraculously walking away from a high-speed crash with barely a scratch.

Darren Dollman was driving coast-bound along the Thanet Way through torrential rain when his car skidded out of control near the Whitstable turn-off.

The 42-year-old, who works in magic bar Houdini’s in Broadstairs, recalled the horrifying incident as he drove home to Cliftonville.

He said: “I was taking over two cars and it began to snake.

"I was gripping so hard on the steering wheel as I was scared I was going to crash into them.

“I was driving between 60mph and 65mph and slowed down.

"I then relaxed as the car seemed to be back in control, but as soon as I did it span 180 degrees in the middle of the road.”

The father-of-two’s car careered into a lamppost, with the impact spinning the vehicle around twice more before it mounted the roadside verge.

“It happened in slow motion but seemed fast at the same time,” he said.

“I just wanted to get home to my wife and kids.”

Mr Dollman, who performs under the stage name Dapper Darren, added: “Police couldn’t believe I was the driver as, apart from a scratch on my forehead, I was unhurt – just very dazed.

“They said it was the worst stretch of road for accidents because of the dip.”

The crash happened at 3.30pm on Wednesday, August 2.

News that aquaplaning is causing accidents on the busy 10-mile road is likely to alarm council bosses who recently spent £5.8 million on remedial works.

The road is laid on clay subsoil which expands and contracts, depending on how much rain there has been, causing an uneven surface.

Resurfacing, which began last November and finished in March, was supposed to fix the problem.

The Whitstable Gazette has requested crash figures since resurfacing works finished on March 22.