Traffic has ground to a halt in several places in Maidstone after a small section of a main route was coned off.

Works are taking place in Tonbridge Road, just up from the pedestrian crossing near Maidstone West Station.

Vehicles heading from town are moving slowly, but many drivers have come to a standstill. Some have reported being stuck for around two hours without going anywhere.

There are currently queues to get into and out of the McDonald's drive-thru, which has its entrance on Hart Street, plus the Lockmeadow complex.

After drivers took to Twitter to vent their anger, Maidstone council confirmed just after 5pm roadworks are being undertaken by UK Power Networks.

Vehicles near the flats on Hart Street were backed up as far as the Clifford Way development and several cars are also struggling to get out of the small industrial estate nearby.

The Tonbridge Road works appear to be taking place outside a building with a blue hoarding around it.

As the work has also closed off the pavement, contractors have installed a temporary crossing for pedestrians who need to cross over the road to continue on foot.

But this has had a knock-on effect as it is so close to the existing crossing, meaning cars are held up twice, within a short space of time.

In previous years when traffic has been so bad nearby, the authorities have had to open the car park of Maidstone West station to ease the jams.