KENT’S heaviest snowfall in March in 10 years caused chaos on the roads, closed schools and businesses and created havoc for the emergency services.

Police reported black ice all over the county and advised drivers not to venture out unless absolutely necessary.

The M2 was closed London-bound between junction five, Stockbury, and six, Faversham, on Thursday morning after a car crashed into the side of a jack-knifed lorry trailer. A 19-year-old man from Sittingbourne was killed, and his 20-year-old female passenger, from Canterbury, suffered serious injuries. She has since been discharged from hospital.

Many routes were almost impassable when the heaviest snow fell.

Motorists found themselves at a standstill as the A249 was closed in both directions between Stockbury and Detling Hill after two lorries jack-knifed on Thursday morning. The road was closed completely again for a short period on Friday due to the severe weather and extremely icy conditions.

Kent Police shut the A229 at Blue Bell Hill, while conditions proved difficult on the A274 at Sutton Valence Hill and Boxley Hill. Traffic through Maidstone town centre was gridlocked as many people left work early.

A woman had to be cut free through the roof of her car after crashing into a lorry near Dartford, which saw its first snow of the week on Friday.

Operation Stack was implemented throughout the latter part of the week to ease the backlog of cross-Channel freight traffic leading to major problems coastbound on the M20.

The weather also caused many problems for businesses and shops, as staff struggled to get to and from work.

Suzie Brindle, marketing manager at The Mall Chequers shopping centre in Maidstone said: "The centre remained open, but it was up to the shops if they closed. I am aware of a few that did. For the safety of everyone we closed the roof of the car park because it’s open to the elements."

On the trains, all south eastern services were "severely disrupted". Services were cancelled between Tonbridge and Ashford on Thursday.

The Leeds Castle estate, which is normally open seven days a week, closed at noon on Wednesday and remained closed on Thursday.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service has warned people to be extra careful and not to start fires during the severe weather as crews could face delays getting to them.

Army Land Rovers were called in to take nine members of staff to and from Maidstone Hospital as up to 11cm of snow fell in the Maidstone area during Wednesday afternoon.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust advised visitors to Maidstone Hospital not to make non-essential journeys to see patients unless absolutely necessary.

Hayden Newton, chief executive of Kent Ambulance Trust, thanked staff who volunteered for overtime to cover for colleagues who could not get to work.

He said: "We had a number of 4x4 ambulances brought in, and three 4x4 vehicles from the Army to move staff around the county.

"We are busy, but we are coping well. We’ve had quite a lot of emergency calls, mainly from people who have gone outside and slipped, fallen and broken an arm or shoulder."

Nicky Bullett, area operations manager at Kent County Council, said gritters were out from 6am on Wednesday and Thursday, and also throughout the nights.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Bullett said: "We have been having problems on the hills caused mainly by accidents. We’ve been out ploughing on Detling Hill because the snow is at least three inches deep.

"It’s very unusual to have snow at the very end of February into March, but the trucks and men are available until the middle of April."

Overnight temperatures dropped to -2C and -3C, but it is likely to feel warmer over the next few days, with temperatures reaching 5C, 6C, or 7C during daylight hours by Sunday.