A man who died in a car crash over the weekend has been named as a former head teacher, who was facing rape and sex abuse charges.

Graham Priest, 54, died on Saturday night after crashing into the back of a parked lorry "at considerable speed" on the A249 near Sittingbourne, where he lived.

The ex-boarding school head died just days before he was due to stand trial at Northampton Crown Court for rape and a string of historic sex offences.

Priest was the headteacher of Falcon Manor boarding School, near Towcester, Northamptonshire, before it closed in 1999.

He was charged with raping a woman over 16 in 1988 and three counts of indecent assaults on girls and two on women aged over 16, between 1995 and 1998.

Kent Police confirmed a man in his 50s and from Sittingbourne had died after his black Citroën crashed into a lorry, which was legally parked in a layby, at around 7pm on Saturday.

Police are appealing for witnesses to call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01622 798535 quoting number 008/17.