KENT ambulance chiefs have spoken out following a hit-and-run crash in which two ambulance paramedics and an elderly patient were injured.

A lorry hit a parked ambulance while two paramedics were in the back of it treating a 75-year-old woman. The ambulance had been on a 999 call to treat the pensioner who had fallen on the pavement at Snipes Hill, Sittingbourne.

The vehicle was overturned and the crew and the patient were trapped inside. They had to be freed by firefighters.

The patient was most seriously hurt and has head injuries. She has been transferred from the Medway Maritime Hospital to the high dependency unit at King's Hospital in London.

Ken Smith, chief executive of Kent Ambulance Service, said: "The fact that the driver did not even stop is appalling. In any case ambulances are specifically designed to be highly visible to protect them from other traffic when they stop at a scene and even so there was enough room on that road to pass."

A male paramedic, who had suffered a shoulder injury and face lacerations, has been released from Maidstone Hospital. His woman colleague suffered a severe head laceration, and needed stitches. It is thought she will be released from hospital shortly.

The accident was at about 3.30pm yesterday near the Snipes Hill traffic lights.