A danger driver smashed through a mum's "lifeline" new car, hitting three other vehicles in the process.
Leanne Gilks had purchased a £5,000 Skoda just a few weeks before, and it had been stuck at the garage for repairs for the last two weeks.
Finally getting it back, she parked it near her home on North King Street, North Shields, on Thursday, November 7.
But returning that evening after a night out in Newcastle , Leanne was horrified to see her new car had already been destroyed.
The Skoda was written off after a vehicle, believed to be a white BMW, slammed into it, ramming it back into her neighbour's car in a chain reaction which damaged four parked cars in total.
Leanne said: "I'm totally devastated: I only bought the car and month ago and because it's been in the garage I've been driving a courtesy car. I got it back at 5pm and by 10pm it had been destroyed.
"I am losing my no-claims bonus, my insurance premiums are going to go through the roof. Prices will skyrocket, I don't even know if I will be able to run a car after this, but the car is my lifeline."
Leanne, 29, an English language student at Sunderland University , says without a car there's no way she can both get to her lectures on time and drop her son off at school.
And the mum-of-one says her shock was worsened by the attitude she claims police took to her case. Ringing them late on Thursday night, she claims she was told emergency services had come to the scene, but without further evidence being provide to them, officers didn't think they would be able to investigate.
Leanne set out to find out more, asking locals for CCTV and appealing for information on Facebook . After this information was passed on, police sent out a press release asking the public for more information, but Leanne says she hadn't been told her case would, in fact, be investigated until she saw the ChronicleLive story .
She said: "I have nothing but respect for the police and I understand they are just doing their jobs and don't always have time to look into everything, but a car is the most expensive thing most people own, whoever did this has probably caused about £10- to £15,000 of damage and I felt like nothing was being done. It felt like I was being asked to investigate it myself.
"I want to feel like I can leave my car on my street and if something happens to it there's going to be some kind of resolution."
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: "At 10.12pm on Thursday police received a report that a car had collided with a number of parked cars on North King Street in North Shields and then made off from the scene.
"Emergency services attended and found that a white BMW had been driving at speed on the street and hit the stationary vehicles but they did not stop at the scene.
"Inquiries to locate the vehicle are ongoing but anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting log 1157 07/11/19."
