A MOTORCYCLIST was killed after being in collision with a car on the A2 at Bean, near Dartford.

The dead man, thought to be aged 33, was taken to Dartford's Darent Valley Hospital while North Kent Police were called in to divert congested traffic. The incident, on Thursday morning, caused a four-mile tailback.

The victim is the fifth motorcyclist to have died on roads in the Dartford area since Christmas Eve.

The accident was one of two which happened within an hour of each other in the same area. The other incident also involved a car and motorbike. In that incident the motorcyclist suffered only minor injuries.