Leamington Cemetery crash ‘not hit and run’

After the Courier was informed of the damage caused at the cemetery in Brunswick Street, where bits of car debris were also scattered, we contacted the police - who reported that they were looking for witnesses to establish the identity of the driver.

But after reading our report in last week’s Courier, Sydenham widower George Bates, who had been visiting his wife’s grave on Friday May 17, contacted the paper to say that the driver’s identity was known.

He said: “I saw the car go out of control. The police were called and they arrived about five minutes later.

“The driver was an elderly woman, who was very shocked but did not appear to be hurt.

“Her daughter came very quickly and took her away, but not before she spoke to the police. She was very lucky not to have been hurt.”

Mr Bates said he had tried to contact the police, but had not been able to get through to an operator.

After looking back on police logs, a force spokeswoman confirmed that officers had attended the scene and that the woman driver - who had been driving a green Ford Mondeo - had been co-operative.

She added: “Witnesses can still call the police if they have information which may establish how the vehicle came to be involved in the collision.” The number to call is 101.