An 18-year old woman was left unharmed after a British Challenger 2 tank crushed her car in northwest Germany on Monday.

The driver of the car is said to have inadvertently turned into the path of the tank convoy, which was heading off for training exercises.

The incident occurred in the small German town of Augustdorf, leaving the bonnet of the Toyota hatchback completely crushed.

German police spokesman Lars Risserbusch said that damage to the car is estimated to cost around 12,000 euros (£8,700) to repair.

The main British battle tanks were from the UK army base in nearby Paderborn.

“We can confirm that there was a road traffic incident involving a Challenger 2 tank and a car driven by a German national," said a British Army spokesperson.

"The Royal Military police are working alongside the German civil police to investigate the incident.”

Another British armoured vehicle from Paderborn hit the headlines earlier in the year when it veered off the road and ploughed through an elderly couple's fence.

Asked by local.de whether British training was adequate, the British Army spokesperson said: “Our tank crews go through a very rigorous training process." He also pointed out that because there were three soldiers in the tank monitoring the road, the tank was "able to stop soon enough”.

“You can never rule out mechanical failure,” he continued, “but our vehicles are maintained to the highest of standards.”

The British Army operates in Germany as 'British Forces Germany' from a number of garrisons, including the one at Paderborn. The UK military is set to end its permanent deployment in Germany by 2019.