A helpless driver watched on as his BMW was hit by passing traffic after it was left stranded on the M20 for over an hour.

Daniel Major, 37, from Willesborough, was travelling to work when his estate car broke down on the London-bound stretch between junctions 8 for Maidstone and 7 for Maidstone, Sittingbourne, Sheerness A249.

He exited the vehicle and climbed onto the verge for safety, but he was unable to move his car off the motorway as there was no hard shoulder because the road has been reduced to just two narrow lanes as part of Operation Brock.

Despite reporting the incident to police at 5.42am on Sunday, November 17, it took more than an hour for help to arrive.

The dad-of-one says he thought he was moments away from witnessing a serious accident as he watched cars smash into his vehicle on the dark motorway.

"My car was stranded in a live lane for over an hour," the dad-of-one said.

"In that time my car was hit by a driver and written off and the driver failed to stop.

"I called 999 and said my car is being hit but the police didn't attend.

"My breakdown refused to come because I was not in a position of safety.

"I was watching on thinking I was about to see a serious road accident, causing serious injury."

An emergency recovery vehicle was dispatched by Highways England shortly after the incident occurred - but it broke down en route.

At 7am, more than an hour after Mr Major made the first call, an impact protection vehicle arrived to shelter his car from further damage.

The vehicle was fully recovered by 7.47am - more than two hours after it broke down.

Mr Major added: "There were no road lights in that section.

"I was freezing cold and stranded for over an hour - it's lucky that my family wasn't with me.

"I have lost £2,000 from my car because I only had fire and theft insurance and I have had to spend £1,300 to buy a new car.

"I hold highways responsible for this."

Police have launched a review to establish why no officers attended.

A spokeswoman said: "We were called at 5.47am on Sunday 17 November to report a broken down vehicle in the live lane of the London-bound M20 between Junctions 8 and 7.

"The caller made contact again to advise that his vehicle had subsequently been in a collision with two other vehicles.

"No injuries were reported and the vehicle was subsequently recovered.

"I was watching on thinking I was about to see a serious road accident, causing serious injury...' - Daniel Major

"Following the incident it has been established police officers did not attend the incident and a review is underway to establish why.

"The member of public who made the call will be updated at the conclusion of the review."

A spokesman for Highways England says it takes safety in roadworks "very seriously".

“We keep the safety performance of our road network continually under review," he said.

"The breakdown on November 17 occurred in the free recovery zone and we were informed of the breakdown by Kent Police.

"The recovery vehicle and an impact protection vehicle arrived just after 7am.

"The impact protection vehicle was able to warn other drivers of the hazard ahead, and the broken down vehicle was recovered and the carriageway safely cleared by 7.45am.”

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