A controversial £14m railway crossing is set to be a bridge to nowhere for a few more days - after its opening was delayed.

Cars were set to use the crossing for the first time on Saturday. But it's opening has been delayed until later this month.

An investigation has found Stoke Crossing in Hoo, which has been replaced with a vast bridge, is used by fewer than 10 trains a day.

The bridge - over a single-track freight line to the Isle of Grain - is £1.2m over-budget and cost more than Chatham's new bus station or Gillingham's flagship sports centre Medway Park.

Medway Council proposed it as part of a raft of safety measures on the A228, which saw more than 30 deaths in 20 years.

Yet the cost has been branded "eye-watering" by Grain Parish Council chairman Chris Buckwell, who added: "I'm staggered. If it were me, I think £14m could be spent much better elsewhere in Medway."

It was hammered by vocal Labour councillor Tristan Osborne, who wrote on his blog: "It is an absolute joke of quite sizeable proportions.

"How in any right-wing, low IQ'd brain, which sadly comprises the mass ranks of blue-rinsed lemmings, could anyone put this bridge as a priority is beyond any semblance of rationality."

This week Network Rail confirmed the track is used by "an average of eight to 10 trains a day", with a spokesman adding: "The number varies. It can be as low as two or much higher."

The project was funded by a £144m grant from the Homes and Communities Agency, but council staff warned it could go over-budget before it started.

It was fast-tracked without appearing before a "procurement board", to ensure value for money, because HCA funds had to be spent quickly.

Labour finance spokesman Cllr Vince Maple said: "Money is being wasted whilst meanwhile hard-working families are struggling to make ends meet."

Council finance chief Cllr Alan Jarrett (Con) said: "The overspend was caused by disagreements between the council and the pipeline agency. We agreed a certain configuration then that changed."

He added: "It was done on the grounds of road safety. You can't always get the funding from the government for exactly what you want. You have to tap into sources of funding that you are offered.

"There is always a divergence of views in a healthy democracy. Hopefully it will serve a useful purpose."