A MAN in his early 30s was taken to hospital with multiple injuries today after the car he was driving crashed into the back of a flatbed maintenance lorry.

Fire crews were called to the incident at about 1.25am on the London-bound A2 near the Pepper Hill junction at Northfleet to cut the man out of the wreckage.

A spokesman said the car roof had been ripped off by the impact. Firemen from three pumps battled for more than an hour using hydraulic cutting equipment to create enough space to reach him.

He was lifted out on a spinal board and taken to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford.

Police sealed off the London-bound A2 for more than six hours to conduct their investigations, with reports of rush-hour traffic tailing back to Sittingbourne.

The London-bound carriageway was closed between 1.30am and 8.10am.

Engineer David Bond from Frindsbury, near Rochester, joined the queue at the Tollgate at Gravesend, at at 5.30am and it was not until three hours later that he managed to reach Tilbury in Essex where he works.

He said: “We were diverted to Northfleet and joined the old A2 near Northfleet. It was the journey from hell.

“The frustrating thing is I live on Frindsbury Hill and can practically see Tilbury from my bedroom window. If I could fly I could be there in minutes.

“But once the A2 closes there is no way round and you know you are in for a long journey to work.”