A mum of three, who is believed to have grown up in Gravesend, was reportedly shot in front of her family after accidentally driving into a slum in Brazil.

Eloise Dixon is reported to have suffered gun shot wounds to the stomach while her horrified husband and three young girls looked on.

The 46-year-old, who was born in Dartford and went to Painters Ash Primary School in Northfleet, was targeted by a gang while on holiday, the Daily Mail reports.

The former Northfleet School for Girls pupil was in a vehicle, being driven by her husband, looking for a water when they took a wrong turn, Brazilian police reportedly told local media.

The family is believed to have failed to understand a warning, shouted at them in Portuguese, to get out of the area.

The victim's quick-thinking husband managed to drive his injured wife to a roadside police station where they were able to seek help.

Harrowing footage shown on Brazilian television shows bullet holes in the side of the car and in the headrest where Mrs Dixon, who studied at West Kent College, Tonbridge, was sitting.

Two men accused of shooting the family's Renault Fluence car are now on the run.

Police chief Bruno Gilaberte said the family were on the main road from Rio to Santos and ended up in a slum called Agua Santa, which means Holy Water in Portuguese.

He told local media: "They mistook the information they were given about where they could find a place to buy water.

"Because of the language difficulties, there was some confusion. They ended up going to the Agua Santa neighbourhood where they were targeted by criminals.

"They were shot at after failing to understand the order they were given to leave the area."

Mrs Dixon, who is thought to now live in Bromley, is believed to have undergone surgery at Hospital Geral da Japuíba in Angra dos Reis, Brazil, and is now in a stable condition.

Rodrigo Muchelli, the hospital's medical director, said: "The bullet passed straight through her abdomen, and missed the vital organs and arteries. She was very lucky."

The family is believed to have been staying in Angra dos Reis, a municipality in the southwest Rio de Janeiro state that has many beaches and is popular with tourists but also has deprived areas.

The slum they were attacked in, Agua Santa, is synonymous with violence, drug trafficking and gun crime.