Victims of a Christmas Day accident are being forced to live apart while they battle to recover from their injuries whilst keeping their businesses afloat.

Chris Walter and his wife Debbie, who both run businesses in Headcorn, were lucky to escape with their lives following the late night accident in Sutton Road, Maidstone.

Mrs Walter’s mother Patricia Leach, 67, was also seriously injured. She has been told her recovery may take two years.

Mrs Leach, from Biddenden, broke her pelvis in three places and suffered three breaks to the spine, a broken sternum and a punctured heart.

She is still being treated at King’s College Hospital, London. Mr and Mrs Walter went to Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

“I just want to see my mum and hold her hand. It’s been difficult, we’re very, very close” - Debbie Walter

Mrs Walter, 45, who runs Enhance Hairstyling and Beauty in Headcorn High Street, suffered a broken spine and a severely damaged shoulder. It is feared the shoulder may be inoperable due to the removal of lymph nodes when she had breast cancer.

Because of her injuries she has not been able to visit her mother since she was discharged from hospital on New Year’s Eve. She said: “I just want to see my mum and hold her hand. It’s been difficult, we’re very, very close.”

She is also having to live apart from her husband. She is staying with a friend in Headcorn while her husband, who was discharged last Wednesday, is living with his daughter in a more suitable home in Medway.

Mr Walter, 54, who runs Headcorn Gifts and Music, suffered a broken spine and several broken bones in his foot.

Mrs Walter is now facing a struggle to keep her business open.

Meanwhile, her husband is not receiving a penny from Headcorn Gifts and Music, also in the High Street. He co-owns the business, but makes his living through guitar lessons and repairs, something his injuries are preventing him from doing.

Mrs Walter said she is going to see if they are eligible for benefits. She said: “Chris and I have nothing. I don’t know what happens next. It’s not a good situation.”

A 21-year-old man from Orpington was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop. He has been bailed until Thursday, February 5.