A wreckless driver wrote off a couple's BMW in a late-night crash.

Trevor and Jenny Mayhew only bought their £2,500 BMW 5 Series in November but it was left un-driveable when a light coloured car smashed into it in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Their car was parked in Wethersfield High Street when a driver, who was travelling in the direction of Braintree, lost control and struck it at such force it was pushed back 3ft and rammed onto the curb.

The crash pushed the BMW into a Peugeot 206 parked next to it which has also been written off.

Neighbours told Mr Mayhew they awoke to a crash at around 2am and saw the offending driver spin 180 degrees in their car, stop to check one of the front wheels and drive off.

Mr Mayhew, 45, said: "They could have killed somebody.

"We are very concerned about getting the person identified but I don’t hold out much hope.

"One neighbour said the car was similar to a Golf or a Focus and we think it might have been a diesel because there was a lot of spilt diesel in the road."

If you have any information, call police on 101.