Police closed the Sheppey Crossing this afternoon after drivers had to dodge an abandoned metal patio table.

A police spokesman confirmed: “We were called to the bridge at 12.31pm after reports of debris on the Sittingbourne-bound carriageway.

"Officers found a garden metal table frame covering both lanes just before the bridge.”

Witnesses said a fleet of police cars converged on the crossing and officers removed the obstruction before reopening the road which links Sheppey to the mainland.

It is not known how the table came to be there.