A woman was airlifted to hospital after a car crashed through a busy bus stop in Dartford this morning.

The accident happened just before 10am in Home Gardens, Dartford, near the Civic Centre, outside the old county court and YMCA centre. Passers-by heard screeching tyres followed by a thud.

The road was closed for about three hours to allow the Kent Air Ambulance to land, and later for the wreckage to be cleared up.

Traffic was diverted onto nearby roads, including bus services which use the area as their main terminus.

The car - described as a silver-grey BMW by eye witnesses - destroyed a Fastrack bus shelter before ending up at the 96 stop.

The injured woman is believed to be a pedestrian who was waiting at the stop. A Kent Air Ambulance spokesman said they flew a female patient, believed to be in her late 50s, to King's College Hospital in London. She had suffered multiple injuries which are believed to be life-changing but not life-threatening.

The driver of the vehicle was also injured but it is not known how seriously.