Nightmare Morning On Kent's Roads

Three accidents cause chaos during rush hour

Three incidents on Kent's motorways have caused nightmares for commuters this morning.

The M20 was closed between junction 7 and 8 at 6.15am because of a lorry that caught alight on the hard shoulder.  This caused one lane to be closed and big queues.

Later on, at just after 7.15am police were called to a collision on the Londonbound carriageway of the M2 between Faversham and Sittingbourne.

Two vehicles were involved, a foreign-registered lorry and a van. The van left the motorway, ending up in bushes.

Fire crews have been cutting off the top of the van to free the driver - we don't know yet if he is injured.

Meantime - While the emergency services were dealing with the incident, another road traffic collision occurred on the coastbound carriageway involving four vehicles. It is not thought that anybody has suffered serious injuries in the second collision.
The causes of the collisions are not yet known.

09:05am update

The Londonbound carriageway is now fully open.

Only one lane is still closed on the coastbound carriageway to allow the four vehicles to be recovered which will be very soon.

Traffic is currently static on the A249 Sittingbourne-bound carriageway due to tailbacks from the RTCs on the M2.

Drivers are advised to avoid the A249 and use alternative routes to Sittingbourne and Faversham.