Seven roads in Kent have been ranked among some of the most dangerous in England.

They have been included in a list of the top 20 hotspots for crashes across the country, according to data from Highways England.

Junction 2 of the M25 at the Darenth Interchange was rated the third highest spot for motorway collisions, while the A282 Junction 1A was the second worst A-road dual carriageway, followed by the A2 at Darenth.

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KMTV's Joe Coshan meets a man whose son was injured in a crash

The A282 Princes Road interchange, A2 Bean interchange, A249 Maidstone Road and the A21, which runs from Tonbridge to Hastings, also made it onto the list.

Highways officials recorded 831 collisions involving injury in the top 20 hotspots between 2015 and 2017.

Officials say "failing to look properly" was the main factor in crashes in the 10 worst motorway hotspots and A-roads in 2017, accounting for a total of 260 accidents.

This was followed by drivers who "failed to judge other person's path or speed", which was blamed for causing 183 collisions during the same period.

But road safety campaigners say bad driving is only part of the problem and the sheer number of crashes on roads in the Dartford area shows there must be flaws in the layout and design of the road network.

They also questioned why Kent County Council had not applied for a share of £25 million of Department of Transport funding available through the 2017/18 Safer Roads Fund to seek improvement of A-roads in the Dartford area.

KCC did submit two applications for funding, but only for the A252 in Ashford and the A290 in Canterbury.

"Deaths on the roads are preventable," said Kelly Grehan, of Dartford Safer Roads.

"We have to accept that people will always make mistakes.

"But reengineering of roads, improving visibility at junctions, removing trees, lighting, all those sort of things can reduce deaths and injury on the roads.

"We would ask why KCC and Dartford Borough Council have not looked at making an application to the Safer Roads Fund to have a look at what engineering changes can be made on those roads in particular.

"Everyone who lives in Dartford knows there's a good chance every time you leave the house you will be late home because the roads are so bad.

"It's interesting that they've [KCC] made two applications but Dartford has once again has been neglected."

KCC declined to comment, saying responsibility for the roads mentioned in the top 20 hotspots fell to Highways England.

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Dartford Council leader Jeremy Kite (Con) was unavailable for comment.

A Highways England spokesman said: "We are absolutely committed to further reducing deaths and injuries on England's motorways and major A-roads.

"This will require a concerted effort and investment over the long term.

"Meanwhile, our ongoing delivery of the £15 billion government investment in the strategic road network will continue to make journeys better and safer: we are improving roads and road design; working with vehicle manufacturers; and influencing driver behaviour through targeted campaigns and messaging."

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