The A2 at Newington has reopened after emergency gas leak repairs closed it for more than a week.

Traffic had been diverted along the M2 from 8pm on Thursday, July 18.

The road, which links Sittingbourne with the Medway Towns, was reopened at 3pm on Saturday.

Drivers had been turned back at Key Street and at Playstool Road but many lorries still got through and ended up stuck in narrow country roads.

Engineers from Southern Gas Networks (SGN) still have work to finish but have installed temporary traffic lights which continue to cause delays.

At the height of the disruption some villagers called for a street party to celebrate the lack of vehicles thundering past their homes. It ended with an impromptu barbecue at the Bull Inn.

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson is demanding a "long-term" solution following a spate of leaks. He said: "I have written to the chief executive of SGN asking for a long-term solution for the pipework in the area to remove, or at least minimise, further disruptions."

The road closure could not have happened at a worse time as it coincided with planned resurfacing of the London-bound carriageway of the M2 between the Sittingbourne and Canterbury turn-offs over the weekend.

The motorway's roadworks were finally abandoned because of widespread traffic chaos but will continue overnight during the week.

During the road's shut-down, Bull Lane and Church Lane were closed at their junctions with the A2, also known as The Street. The diversion for Bull Lane was through Playstool. The Church Lane diversion included Boxted and Breach Lanes.

On Tuesday evening last week traffic jams became even worse when a car crash near Gillingham closed the coastbound carriageway of the M2 forcing many motorists to take to the back roads to dodge tailbacks.

Carol Harden was stuck in her Kia car with her husband Tony near Iwade trying to get back to their Gillingham home from Sittingbourne. She said: "It was horrendous. Large lorries were also trying to use these narrow roads and were getting stuck. Nothing was moving. It was stupid."

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