A charity volunteer has thanked strangers who came to the aid of her autistic son after they were involved in a three-car pile-up.

Natalie Ives was driving through the Medway Tunnel yesterday evening when she collided with another car in a multi-vehicle crash.

The mum was waiting for two-and-a-half hours with her 14-year-old son after cars stopped suddenly ahead of her.

She had been on her way to Chatham from Gillingham to pick up a wardrobe for a Christmas-themed house she is building to raise money for Medway Maritime Hospital's Oliver Fisher Baby Care Unit.

Ms Ives said a blue car was forced to stop suddenly up ahead after a "white car weaving through traffic" led to a black Audi in front of her slamming on its brakes.

But she was unable able to stop in time and her Vauxhall Zafira crashed into the back of the Audi.

She said: "For no reason at all, the female driver did a hard stop after cutting in front of the blue car.

"The woman in the white car stopped very briefly, looked at all the cars piled up, asked the girls in the blue car if they were okay and just went. No apology, nothing.

"Luckily they have pictures of her car and her reg as one of the passengers reacted quickly.

"The people in the other two cars were just so lovely. My son had a full on meltdown.

"When this happens he's usually stared at and judged as he's 14 and to look at you wouldn't necessarily know he had additional needs.

"They were just so kind. I have all of their details and will contact them once I've sorted out what I need to.

"Everyone was lucky that the traffic was heavy and we weren't doing 50mph.

'Both drivers and passengers of those two cars were just the nicest young adults I've come across in a long time...'

"The two lads in the Audi let my boy sit in their car for almost two hours to keep warm and calm, which he loved just because it's an Audi."

Ms Ives added a girl gave him her coat to stay warm, water to drink and reassured him.

"Both drivers and passengers of those two cars were just the nicest young adults I've come across in a long time," she added. "They all made light of the situation.

"There wasn't any screaming or shouting. Just lovely people pulling together.

"We all swapped details and waited for assistance before even attempting to move any of our cars. The firefighters gave me a foil blanket, the police were really good too."

Her car has been written off meaning she is unable do collections and deliveries for the charities she helps – Making Miracles and Sleeping Beauties Angel Gowns which support people whose babies have died.

Since posting about the incident on the Medway Random Acts of Kindness Facebook page, dozens of people have come forward to offer their help.

Ms Ives says she's been overwhelmed by the support including people offering to loan her their cars.

"There's a lot of very kind people in Medway," she added.

Police spokesman Martin Very said: "Kent Police was called at around 5.50pm on Thursday, February 6, regarding a collision involving three cars in the Medway Tunnel.

"Officers attended the westbound tunnel where no injuries were reported and the cars were recovered.

Roads across Medway were clogged after a lorry overturned on the M2, a two-car crash on Blue Bell Hill towards Maidstone, and a three-car crash in Maidstone Road, Chatham.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway

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