23-year-old mechanic escapes death literally after a wheel shearers off from a Land Rover and bounces 100 meters down the road directly at him

London: Thomas Doherty was working on a Skodia Fabia when the wheel smashed into the side of the car, destroying the bonnet, wing mirror and headlamp

This really is the wheel of fortune turning - and mechanic Thomas Doherty can thank his lucky stars instead of seeing them.

The 23-year-old escaped death by literally a foot as a wheel sheared off from a Land Rover and bounced 100 yards down the street directly at him.

As it passes the garage where he is working, the runaway tyre bounces horribly into the air and goes flying past his head.

Such is the speed of the incident, Thomas has no idea what has happened.

The freak incident was captured on CCTV and shows the out-of-control wheel bouncing down the road after the 4x4 Land Rover hit a kerb.

Mechanic Thomas was working on a Skoda Fabia when the wheel smashed into the side of the car destroying its bonnet, wing mirror and headlamp.

The bizarre incident accident happened at All Electric Garage in Kings Heath, Birmingham, at 10.40am on September 4.

Single Thomas, who has worked at the garage for seven years, said: "I was just about to go out to the car.

"I had the keys in my hand. If I had been moments later, I would have been in it.

"It was a big shock. I would have been killed.

"As I was walking across, I thought it was a jack rolling across the floor but, before I knew it, there was this massive bang.

"It was the last thing I expected.

"It did a bit of damage to the car but I was lucky I wasn't beside it."