A teacher was woken from her sleep to find her £12,000 "pride and joy" BMW written off after a driver ploughed into it in a stolen car.

Charley Clements-Mills was in bed at her home in Ash Road, Sandwich, when neighbours roused her after the crash in the street outside.

A car, later discovered to have been taken in a burglary at a property near Wingham, had smashed into her white 3 Series and whoever was behind the wheel had fled the scene.

Ms Clements-Mills, a mum-of-three who teaches at Sandwich Junior School, was left to try and prise the boot open so she could retrieve Christmas presents still in the car following a shopping trip earlier in the day.

She even quipped with police about trying to siphon off the pricey fuel she had recently filled the car's tank with.

The 36-year-old said: "The neighbours were banging on our door, I was fast asleep, and they were just like 'that is your BMW, isn't it?'

"I think that's the first time I've ever put it on the road, because we've got a drive.

"I looked out and there's the car in the middle of the road crashed into mine. It's hit it so hard it's banged into the Fiat in front and rolled back, and they've done a runner.

"I woke up to my car destroyed, my pride and joy."

Following the accident, which happened on December 3, Ms Clements-Mills was left frustrated by the response from Kent Police.

She says an officer who attended the scene told her she would hear back in the morning, but more than a week later she was still in the dark about any ongoing investigation.

Following KentOnline's intervention, officers have now been in touch and they have also issued an appeal to trace the driver of the stolen vehicle.

A force spokesman said: "Kent Police is investigating a reported burglary in which the keys to a car were stolen from a house in Walmerstone Road, near Wingham, on December 3 before a vehicle was taken from the driveway.

"The stolen vehicle was then involved in a collision with a parked car in Sandwich at around 9.50pm that evening.

"Officers attended the scene of the collision and an investigation is ongoing. Victims will be kept updated as appropriate."

Anyone with information about either the burglary or the crash should call Kent Police on 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/232575/22.