Firefighters were called to put out a vehicle fire on the A2.

A car went up in flames on the hard shoulder of the London-bound carriageway near the turn off for Wilmington, near Dartford.

Two fire engines were sent to the scene at around 11.36am and crews used hose reel jets to extinguish the flames, before damping down any hotspots.

Highways officers also attended and the road was shut.

A motorist said they witnessed "lots and lots of black smoke" shortly after 11.40am.

She said: "I could just see a lot of smoke and the whole of the car was on fire.

"It looked like a black BMW but I could not see any people or anything. You see the smoke before you see anything else."

The incident brought traffic to a halt on the stretch of motorway between the Black Prince roundabout at Bexley and junction two of the M25 for the Darenth Interchange.

All lanes were temporarily shut but have since reopened.