THE father of a woman killed in an horrific accident on the Thanet Way has decribed how he watched helplessly as her car spun out of control.

Derek Henley had just taken daughter Louise Ansell, 38, to collect her new car and was following her into the Chestfield tunnel.

Mr Henley of Beacon Avenue, Beltinge, near Herne Bay, said: "As we got to the tunnel I saw her car start swaying and it got worse. All the traffic stopped. I went down the outside lane with my hazards on to get to her. Her car was upside down on the road, facing the wall.

"I pulled in and ran back. There was petrol pouring out of the car and she was lying unconscious." His daughter was air-lifted to hospital where she underwent emergency surgery but died in intensive care.

The loss of his daughter is another bitter blow to Mr Henley whose wife, Sheila, died of cancer two years ago. He has one son.

The family moved to Herne Bay 32 years ago and Louise attended Reculver School and later Barton Court, Canterbury. She had a variety of jobs. More recently she worked as a carer at Newlands residential home in Herne Bay where she became assistant manager.

She had lived in the Forgefields area of Herne until the beginning of this year when she and her husband separated and she returned to her father's home with her eight cats while she looked for somewhere else to live.