Dramatic footage has captured the moment a van burst into flames on the side of the A2.

Flames can be seen engulfing the front of the white vehicle and shubbery on the hard shoulder of the coastbound carriageway near Dartford.

The incident happened around noon between junction 2 for the Darent Interchange and the Bean Lane slip road for Bluewater.

Traffic was held and emergency services are in attendance.

Three fire engines have been sent to the scene, and crews wearing breathing apparatus are using hose reel jets to tackle the blaze.

No injuries were reported and the cause is not yet known.

Amber Alexander, who captured the footage on route to Canterbury, said: "We were driving on the A2 and saw smoke in the distance and all the cars were kind of edging over to the first lane so we assumed a car must have been on fire.

"Then as we approached it we saw it was a lorry - half of the front of the lorry was completely gone and the rest was still on fire, and all the bushes surrounding it had caught on fire as well.

She added: "There wasn't any traffic because of it when we passed and there weren't any emergency services there yet, but we did see a fire engine coming on the other side when we drove past."

"As we passed it we could feel the heat through the car."

All lanes are now open on the coastbound carriageway of the A2 but lane one on the Darent Interchange remains closed.

The fire has exacerbated delays on M25 anticlockwise before the Dartford Tunnel, with congestion reported back to Junction 3 M20 and Bexleyheath along the A2.

Drivers are being advised to use an alternative route if possible and expect long delays.

More as we get it..