Two women have been taken to hospital after a major accident on a notorious stretch of Sheppey road.

Crews from Sheppey, Eastchurch and Medway used hydraulic equipment to cut one of the women free at the scene of the accident on the Lower Road, Brambledown.

The accident, which involved a Renault Clio and a Vauxhall Astra, caused traffic chaos with the eastern end of the Island virtually cut off.

The county’s courts were also affected as prisoners from the Sheppey Cluster were left stranded.

Police and ambulances were on the scene, while firefighters worked to remove the roof of the Clio to free the woman driver, thought to be in her early 20s.

The driver of the Astra was uninjured but both women were taken to Medway Maritime Hospital.

The Lower Road has a long history of accidents – including many deaths.

On August 14 this year 17-year-old Tom Graysmark died after the Peugeot 106 he was a passenger in collided with a Rover 75 close to the scene of today’s accident.

Tom, who grew up on Sheppey but was living in Orpington, died at the scene of the accident. Three other people were injured and taken to hospital.

In July 2007, businesswoman Beverey Austin was seriously injured and the rider of a motorbike she was traveling on was killed in an accident in the same area.