A 44-tonne articulated truck veered into a ditch and ended up on its side spilling a cargo of green beans.

The driver escaped unharmed from the cab and was seen by witnesses sitting on the grass verge of the B2080 at Reading Street, near Tenterden.

Paul Wright, an instructor at the nearby Willow Farm Shooting Ground witnessed the incident on his way to work this morning.

He said: "The truck went over onto its left hand passenger side and the driver had managed to escape and was sitting on the grass verge looking shaken but otherwise OK.

"The truck was carrying green beans and they had all spilled onto the field."

Specialist lifting equipment had to be brought in and the road remains closed in both directions after the accident this morning.

A police spokesman said: "A lorry overturned onto its side at 8.40am today. The road has been closed so the lorry can be recovered. The lorry driver was reportedly uninjured. The recovery is expected to take several hours."