Brighton hit-and-run car 'used in Portslade ram raid'

Detectives investigating a hit-and-run crash in Brighton believe the car involved was used to carry out a ram raid in Portslade.

Officers said they were "fairly certain" a VW Passat used in a ram raid in Trafalgar Road on Sunday hit Michelle Greest 15 minutes earlier.

Ms Greest was crossing Kings Road with friends at about 04:45 BST when the car hit her at speed and did not stop.

She suffered life-threatening injuries but is recovering, Sussex Police said.

The VW Passat was later found abandoned in Amherst Crescent.

Det Sgt Leon Ryan said: "Having located the VW Passat, we are now fairly certain that it was the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run incident in Brighton."

He added: "Michelle is now recovering, but her injuries are likely to affect her for a long time."

Second raid seen

Det Sgt Ryan also said two raids took place at the flooring shop that morning.

In the first, a man was seen loading pallets of wooden flooring into the VW Passat before driving off with the back door open so wooden tiles fell out in Trafalgar Road, Locks Hill, and Hove Park.

While police were searching for that car, two more men were seen at the shop loading flooring into a small white vehicle.

Detectives are trying to establish whether the raids were linked, or whether the second was an opportunist theft.