Today marks five years since drivers were caught up in one of Britain’s worst pile-ups.

A total of 130 vehicles were involved in the huge smash on the Sheppey Crossing in thick fog on the morning of September 5, 2013.

Images of the cars, lorries, vans and motorbikes on the Sittingbourne-bound carriageway – which spanned about a mile – dominated news reports while the police said it was a miracle that no one had died.

A number of measures have since been put in place to improve safety on the bridge – but it has not been without tragedy and controversy.

In July 2014, mother and son Deborah and Marshall Roberts, eight, died when their car was struck by a lorry on the same stretch.

The following year, a coroner questioned the safety of the crossing which led to Highways England reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50mph.

However, after a 17-month safety review of the bridge, the lower maximum limit was replaced with average-speed cameras in March last year. The 70mph speed limit was also reinstated.

The review found that despite the intention to slow traffic down to make it safer, the accident rate increased.

Since the cameras were installed, the number of accidents on the crossing has fallen.

Figures from Kent Police, in June, showed there had been a total of 20 crashes on the bridge in eight years.

But since the cameras went live, just one crash on the crossing was recorded in 2017 and one again in the first six months of this year.

MP Gordon Henderson said the figures proved the safety measures were working, but there were still a number of improvements he’d like to see.

These included better lighting on the bridge and improved warning signs on its approaches to notify drivers of any incidents that have occurred.