Plans have been welcomed to install lay-bys on smart motorways after years of campaigning to make them safer.

The M20 between Junction 3 for West Malling to Junction 5 for Aylesford is one of 11 major routes to get the emergency refuge areas, for use by broken-down vehicles.

It is part of a £900 million project aimed at improving the UK’s road network by 2025.

The 6.5-mile stretch was converted into a smart motorway in May 2020, with the hard shoulder turned into a live lane to improve capacity.

However, they have been criticised for posing a safety risk to drivers if they become stranded on the road due to a crash or breakdown.

In 2021, Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch requested the government smart motorways to avoid "future tragedies," after two men were killed when a lorry driver ploughed into their vehicles while they were stationary in lane one of the M1 in South Yorkshire.

Ministers paused the rollout of all new routes at the beginning of last year pending a safety review.

There have been at least 79 deaths linked to smart motorways, according to campaigners, while official figures show there were 38 recorded deaths between 2015 and 2019.

Kent County Councillor for Malling North East, Andrew Kennedy (Con) has welcomed the news that refuges will finally be adopted.

He said: "I think it’s a good idea for these emergency service areas to be implemented.

“I had an experience recently when a car had broken down within the period National Highways had put warning signs on the gantries.

“So when you’re travelling along at 60 or 70mph and suddenly a car stops on the inside lane, it’s not a pleasant experience and must be fairly scary sitting there in an active lane.

“Luckily I avoided it, but of course if there’s anything that can be done to provide a safe refuge for those who have broken down, and other users, then that’s something we should support.

“Although signs go up when an incident happens, there’s clearly a delay, sometimes of a few minutes, between a vehicle breaking down and those warning signs being shown – and that’s the danger they pose.

“If you have to stop your car in an active lane on a motorway, it’s clearly a very dangerous thing to do so these measures would significantly improve safety and could prevent a fatal accident.”

Cllr Kennedy added: “As long as the lay-bys have enough room for the car and for the occupants to stand, then I think it’s a good move.

“Converting the inside lane back to a hard shoulder would recreate the original problem of not enough lane capacity.

“However keeping the smart motorway and adding a new hard shoulder would probably require huge investment.”