A lorry became stuck under a bridge this afternoon, causing problems on the roads and rails.

The vehicle became wedged under the bridge in Alkham Road, near Kearsney station, just before 12.30pm.

Train services were stopped until around 2pm, and disruption remains.

There were no reported injuries.

Network Rail sent engineers to inspect the bridge for structural damage.

Spokesman Chris Denning said earlier: "The bridge at Kearsney is a regular victim of high-sided lorries and we have a big steel beam in place to protect it.

"We also have CCTV to speed up the process of inspecting the structure for damage. We had to stop trains running as a result."

Mr Denham said that while the lorry was wedged the track had to stay closed until the underside of the structure was inspected.

But he said that by 1.45pm the lorry was starting to reverse out slowly so inspection could begin. It was shortly afterwards completely freed from the bridge.

Kearsney is on the Dover to Canterbury and London Victoria line and trains between Shepherdswell and Dover Priory stations were stopped in both directions.

Southeastern spokesman Ben Ward said: “We have cancelled two services from Victoria to Dover Priory, stopping at Shepherdswell, while Network Rail engineers assess the bridge.

“We will resume rail services to and from Dover Priory or have replacement bus service depending on the length of time that Network Rail needs.”

The bridge has had a string of vehicles crashing into it in recent years.

In February 2013 a double decker bus ploughed into it.

The Stagecoach vehicle was out of service at the time, with no passengers on board and the driver was unhurt but treated for shock at the scene.

The bus was badly damaged, the bridge only had slight damage and the road was closed for two hours.

In March 2015 a trucker was injured after his front cab got wedged under the bridge.

The skip truck blocked Alkham Road and the route was closed to traffic for more than three hours and rail services were also affected.

In June 2015 a lorry crashed into the bridge and the rail line was shut for about tow hours while the bridge was assessed.

Another lorry crashed into the bridge last January, again getting stuck under it.