GALE force winds continued to lash Kent, forcing the closure of the QE2 bridge and causing disruption on land and sea.

The weather was blamed for causing a car crash during Wednesday's rush hour on the A28 near Bethersden this morning, when gust of wind blew stepladders off the roof of a van and into a car, which then crashed into another vehicle.

Three people were taken to the William Harvey Hospital with minor injuries, including whiplash.

Traffic also had to be diverted in Maidstone after a tree was completely uprooted this morning and blocked Queens Road.

The tree luckily missed nearby houses and cables, and the road was opened again at 6am.

Fallen trees blocked a number of roads in the Dover district, including the A258 at St Margaret’s, Folkestone Road at Church Hougham, and roads near Astor College for the Arts.

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The QE2 bridge across the Thames at Dartford and container port Thamesport, at Grain, remains closed during the strong winds.

Ferry services at Dover continue to be disrupted by both French industrial action and bad weather in the Channel, with delays of up to two hours reported.

As a result, police are currently operating phase two of Stack, which sees the closure of junctions 8 (Leeds Castle) to 9 (Ashford West) of the coastbound section of the M20.

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Thamesport, the UK’s busiest container port, has closed temporarily due to the bad weather, and Medway Police have implement Operation Overflow, which shuts one Grain-bound lane of the A228 from Bells Lane to Ropers Lane in anticipation of a backlog of lorries.

Around 500 homes left without power after Monday’s ferocious storms brought power cables down across Kent have now had their electricity supply restored by EDF Energy Networks.