People in Kent are urged to remain vigilant but not alarmed after a deadly terrorist attack in the nearby capital.

Seven people died and 48 people are being treated in hospital after a white van deliberately drove at pedestrians on London Bridge at around 10pm.

The vehicle continued to drive to Borough Market, where the attackers left the van and a number of people were stabbed, including a police officer.

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Today, trains to London Bridge have been cancelled and political campaigning suspended in the aftermath of the shocking incident - the third terrorist attack on the UK in 10 weeks.

Despite the worrying events, Kent Police says there is no intelligence suggesting an immediate threat to the county.

Chief Superintendent Andrea Bishop said: "Kent Police’s top priority remains public safety and the force is continuing to protect and serve the people of Kent.

"There is nothing to suggest there is a specific threat to Kent and at this time our thoughts are with all those tragically affected by the events in London.

"All calls to Kent Police are assessed, as is usual, based on threat, harm, risk and vulnerability and will continue to be resourced and responded to on this basis.

"Members of the public are urged to carry on their normal business and routines but we ask them to remain vigilant and let us know if they see anything that causes them concern by dialling 999 immediately."

Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott echoed the appeal for residents to carry on with their plans, but to remain vigilant and also report any incidents of possible hate crime.

“My condolences go to the victims and their families. We should carry on and not be cowed by terrorists,” he said.

“We would always tell people that they must remain vigilant and report anything to us that they think is suspicious.

"At times like this a very small number of people do try to take it out on other members of their communities. We are committed to fighting hate crime and keeping Kent as secure as possible.”

He said there were currently no plans to put additional officers on patrol.

“I have been in discussions with the Chief Constable and other senior officers. We do not have any information that suggests there is a threat to Kent and will be maintaining our presence in communities. We are maintaining what we have got out there at existing levels but that can always change.”

Southeastern said London Bridge is likely to be closed all day, although a normal service is operating at Charing Cross, Waterloo East and Cannon Street.

Today, all national general election campaigning has been suspended - although local canvassing may continue.

In Kent, figures including parliamentary candidates and the Archbishop of Canterbury have expressed their shock at the horrific events.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby, tweeted: "Again we grieve with wounded and bereaved, as they face pain and struggle."

He led a service for the day of Pentecost from Holy Trinity Church in Folkestone, which was broadcast live on BBC One this morning.

In a statement, Prime Minister Theresa May said the general election will go ahead as planned on Thursday - despite mounting calls for it to be postponed.

Conservative candidate for Ashford, Damian Green, agreed.

He said: “My initial thought is that we should not let people like this destroy democracy. It is at the heart of what a fair society is - we get to choose the government we want. So the vote should go ahead on Thursday unless there is some practical reason why it can’t.

“This is the third attack in recent months and reveals to us what we have been saying all along that at some stage we would be targeted, despite the fantastic emergency services we have.”

He said the latest attack underlined how it was even more important that the communities where terrorists were likely to come from spoke out where they had suspicions about individuals.

He continued: “It shows how necessary the [government] Prevent strategy is.

"Obviously the overwhelming number of people hate and despise these terrorists and it is all the more important that people within these communities from which terrorists come, and who are likely to spot signs, do speak out.”

Although he had no public events scheduled, he said he had already decided that the local party would not be canvassing voters as had been planned.