The cause of a loud bang which woke residents in Whitstable in the early hours of the morning later revealed itself when they found the carnage of a road accident.

A car had veered off the road and crashed through a sign and several concrete bollards before coming to rest, buried in a hedge in a ditch.

Neighbours, who discovered the abandoned badly-damaged Nissan Micra in Chestfield Road, called police who investigated the scene and vehicle.

The accident happened as the car approached the Molehill Road junction but failed to negotiate a gentle right-hand bend.

Former parish councillors George and Lyn Gadd, who live opposite the crash scene, saw the carnage when they woke.

“We actually didn’t hear anything at the time but apparently some neighbours living opposite did,” said Mrs Gadd.

“The car took out a big sign and then went through a couple of bollards, so hit them with quite a bit of force.”

The couple say it is the latest in a series of nearby incidents on the road, where previously a vehicle crashed through a hedge at the Molehill Road junction and another took out a brick-built post box.

"We don’t know what caused this one, but there is a serious problem with speeding in Chestfield Road,” said Mr Gadd.

"Lyn and I both used to do Speed Watch for the parish council and I caught one vehicle doing 71mph - in a 30mph limit.

"Some of the local boy racers also like to use it an night and we fear it is only a matter of time before someone is killed.

"But until then apparently the authorities won’t do anything about it."

Police confirmed they were called at to Chestfield Road at about 5.45am.

"Officers attended the scene where the car had collided with a signpost and was situated in a ditch on the side of the road," said a spokesman.

"The driver was later identified and spoken to by police.

"He had not suffered any injuries and there were no criminal offences established."

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