DRIVERS in west Kent woke to motorway misery this morning after a crash closed the M20 and caused a massive gridlock in the surrounding area.

Two men were taken to hospital with serious injuries after their Belgian-registered van hit the central reservation at junction three, the slip road for the M26, near Addington, at about 5.20am.

The London-bound carriageway was shut well into the rush hour, with police and crash investigators still at the scene. Rush hour tailbacks were approaching eight miles long and stretched to junction seven for Bearsted, near Maidstone, by 8.30am.

The two male occupants of the van were flung from their vehicle. The driver suffered serious leg and arm injuries and was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Sidcup. The passenger was taken to Maidstone Hospital with multiple injuries. It is not yet known how the accident happened.