A BOLTON woman has slammed a driver who smashed into the side of her car and then made a quick getaway.

Kath Cornwall, of Ainsworth Lane, was driving along Brooklyn Street, Halliwell on Thursday night when a man driving a small white van pulled out in front of her.

The damage to her A-registered Ford Fiesta was so extensive it is likely to be a write-off and even though Kath has fully comprehensive insurance, she claims the accident will cost her a lot of money because she will lose her no claims bonus.

Kath, aged 49, was collecting for a local finance company when the accident happened.

"When he smashed into me at first I didn't realise what was going on because I was quite shaken," she said.

Kath and the other driver both got out of their vehicles to assess the damage and he was very apologetic and said the accident was his fault.

He told Kath to pull over to the side of the road and they would exchange details.

But when he got back in his van, he sped off.

"I couldn't believe it," she added. "He seemed really genuine and then he just drove away."

The only description she has was a white, estate-type van with some kind of writing on the side.

"I'd love to prick someone's conscience," she stormed. "It was definitely a work vehicle so some boss somewhere will have noticed the damage on Friday morning. I am so disgusted at the way it happened. Pretending to be nice and then just vanishing - he must have had something to hide. In the meantime, this will cost me a fortune and I'll have to hire a car while it's repaired because I can't live without one."

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