AN ELDERLY patient seriously injured when a stationary ambulance she was in overturned after being struck by a lorry in Sittingbourne is still in a critical condition in hospital.

The patient, a 75-year-old pensioner, is in the specialist Kings Hospital in London suffering from head injuries.

The ambulance was struck by a lorry driver who failed to stop in the Snipes Hill area of Sittingbourne last Thursday. As well as the patient two paramedics, Lucy Tattersall and Sheldon Jury, were inside the ambulance. Both were injured but have been released from Maidstone Hospital.

A blue and white truck believed to have been the hit-and-run vehicle, was discovered in a driveway about a mile away in Bapchild shortly after the crash.

Insp Ian Williams said: "We are currently following strong leads to ascertain who was driving the lorry but we are particularly keen to hear from witnesses who have yet to come forward. Someone may have seen the driver leaving the vehicle in the Bapchild area or making off from the scene. We are keen to know where he went after abandoning the vehicle."

Kent Ambulance Service Service chief executive Ken Smith said: "The fact that the driver did not even stop is appalling. In any case ambulances are specifically designed to be highly visible to protect them from other traffic when they stop at a scene - and even so there was enough room on that road to pass."

Witnesses to the accident are being asked to contact the Neighbourhood Watch hotline on 0808 1003308. The free phone is manned from 9am-5pm and an answer phone will operate outside these hours.