A busy road was closed while fire crews tackled a vehicle fire.

An image taken from the scene shows the vehicle engulfed by flames after erupting into a fireball in Pier Road, Gillingham earlier this evening.

The blaze broke out on a section of the A289 near the Strand Roundabout at around 6.30pm.

One fire engine attended to find the vehicle ablaze with both its boot and bonnet open.

Crews wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the flames using a hose reel jet.

No injuries have been reported and the cause is not yet known.

The road was temporarily closed whilst the scene was made safe.

Motorists headed towards Rainham reported heavy traffic attempting to avoid the scene, with cars turning around to avoid the incident.

One cyclist who rode past the blaze commented online: “Saw this when I was cycling past it, omg was lots of black smoke in the sky hope everyone is ok not hurt.”

It’s not yet known what caused the fire.

Fire crews left the scene shortly after 7.30pm