Police have acted to clamp down on "boy racers" in Greenhithe after scenes described as "like the opening of Brands Hatch".

Truck drivers had complained they were unable to access their depots off Crossways Boulevard after a large number of cars descended on the area on Friday last week and begun racing along the streets.

One Dartford-based truck driver said he had been verbal abused by the drivers when he asked them to move.

But police responded in force last night, after Dartford Council issued a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which also covered Bluewater, to help clamp down on the anti-social car meets.

The PSPO bans cruising, wheel spins, racing and performing stunts.

Last night, officers issued at least eight £100 fixed penalty fines using the PSPO legislation.

The move will come as a relief to residents in the area who said the noise of modified cars racing up and down the busy dual carriageway at high speeds had become a regular occurrence and a constant source of stress

The meets had even begun to attract large audiences of spectators with one trucker describing how people had taken to sitting in the middle of the roundabout in garden chairs, drinking beer and eating crisps as they watched the races.

Kent Police are back in the area tonight to continue the clampdown, but so far no incidences have been reported.