A man suspected of leaving three people seriously injured following a Christmas Day hit-and-run has had his bail extended.

The crash left Christopher Walter, 54, his wife, Deborah, 45, and mother-in-law Patricia Leach, 67, trapped in their Peugeot 208 on the Sutton Road in Maidstone.

The driver fled the scene and on Boxing Day police arrested a 21-year-old from Orpington on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

His bail was due to end on New Year's Eve but it has been extended until Thursday, February 5.

The family was travelling home after visiting Sarah Evans, daughter of Mrs Leach and sister of Mrs Walter, in York Road, Maidstone.

She told the Kent Messenger: “They left my house just before 10pm and I had no clue what had happened until 2am.

“I was thinking about what a great day we had while they were trapped in a car wreck, I find that really hard to think about. That and the fact someone just walked away.

“A specialist police officer told me that was this was the type of accident people don’t survive. All three are alive and there’s no brain injuries, so in a way they’re lucky.”

Firefighters spent more than an hour cutting the casualties free before they were taken to hospital.

Mrs Leach, from Biddenden, broke her pelvis in three places and also suffered three breaks to the spine, a broken sternum and a punctured heart which surgeons have now stabilised.

She was taken to King’s College Hospital and remains in intensive care.

Mr and Mrs Walter, who live together in Headcorn, were taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

Mrs Walter, who runs Enhance Hairstyling and Beauty in Headcorn High Street, has a broken spine and a severely damaged shoulder.

It is feared the shoulder may be inoperable as she had lymph nodes removed from there when she had breast cancer.

Mr Walter, who runs Headcorn Gifts and Music, also in the High Street, was driving and the only one to remain conscious throughout.

He suffered a broken spine and several broken bones in his foot.

They were travelling in a silver Peugeot 208 hire car and they were hit by a silver Vauxhall Astra just after 10pm.

Mr Walter’s own car, a small Fiat, had been destroyed by hit a hit-and-run driver while it was parked in North Street, Headcorn on Saturday, December 6.

A police expert told Mrs Evans that if her family had been travelling in that it is likely they would not have survived.

Both of the cars went on to smash into the walls of front gardens in Sutton Road just after 10pm.

Crash investigators closed the road and remained at the scene until 4.30am.

One of the homeowners affected said: “We were upstairs at the time and heard a loud bang.

“I could see black smoke going up. I thought it was my neighbour reversing in but running down you could see.”

She said she spoke briefly to a man on her drive, before he left, but didn’t realise until the first police woman at the scene told her he was the driver.

She added: “They had the dog unit to see if they could find him but nothing.”

Another Sutton Road resident said: “A woman who worked on the other side of the road saw a man thought to be the driver.

“She said he was sweating profusely and smelled of drink.

“On Christmas Day there’s not so many people around.

“We’re normally quite busy here with lots of shops and people walking up and down.
“In one way we were lucky there was no one else around.”