RESIDENTS told how they were enable to leave their estate as an abandoned car blocked the road in an apparent hit and run.

The silver Ford Fiesta was left parked vertically across the junction at New Garrison Road and Campfield Road, on Shoebury’s Old Garrison.

Oil and petrol covered the road, the driver’s airbag had been deployed and both front tyres were completely flat.

A white Volkswagen, parked in nearby Magazine Road, was also discovered badly damaged. Debris from its lights, bumper and driver’s door were scattered in the road - prompting speculation there were two hit and run incidents on the estate over the weekend.

Eyewitness and resident of Horseshoe Crescent, Shoebury, said: “There was oil and petrol all over the road, the airbag had been deployed and both front tyres were completely flat.

“We immediately called the police to alert them. Unbeknown to us there was a second car that had been completely smashed, further into the Garrison.

“The next morning, the car we had reported had been moved - but the windows had been smashed through and glass all over the road.

“It can’t be a coincidence that the two cars were completely wrecked on the same night.

“These may not be related, but residents in and around Shoebury Garrison are certainly acknowledging a rise in crime.

“I for one do not feel safe at the moment, which is such a shame considering how beautiful the Garrison is.”

Firefighters were called to New Garrison Road at 6.20am on Saturday to clear petrol left on the road from the Fiesta.

A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: “We attended to a fuel spill from a car, we made the road safe and left in in the care of the highway agency.”

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.