Snow and icy conditions across Kent today continue to caused havoc on roads and tonight a major route has been closed due to ice - and there's still more bad weather to come.

Several councils including Swale, Folkestone, Maidstone and Canterbury also had had to delay bin collections due to the weather.

Carol Valentine, Highways Project Manager for Kent County Council

And this evening, Kent Police closed the Lord Lees roundabout in Chatham at the top of Blue Bell Hill because of ice.

The A229 is actually closed in both directions to the bottom of Blue Bell Hill.

Officers from the road policing unit said they had closed the Chatham-bound A229 because to extensive black ice, but later it was closed in both directions.

Motorists are urged to find other routes if the travelling is essential.

Several roads in the county have had problems today, including in Minster-on-sea where there was heavy traffic on the High Street between Harps Inn pub and Waterloo Hill.

Southeastern also warned there is no service between Dover Priory and Ramsgate, Dovery Priory and Faversham and Hastings and Tonbridge. Trains were not stopping at Westenhanger and Sandling.

And this morning on the London-bound A229 carriageway, near Blue Bell Hill, a person is being treated for injuries following a three-car crash.

Stagecoach has been forced to make some changes to its service today. All the details can be found here.

Keep up-to-date on the latest traffic and travel news here.

Kent Police have said today: "Please drive safely if you're on an essential journey this evening.

"Roads may be clear of snow in areas, but temperatures are causing black ice.

"We are working hard with numerous accidents and break downs."

A Co-Op in Sittingbourne is limiting shoppers to one loaf of bread and one milk bottle each because of the snow.

Several schools - including three in Canterbury - have also announced that they will be closed today to vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers.

Meanwhile, the wintry weather has prompted health bosses to shut the symptom-free testing site at the Guildhall in Sandwich and the walk-through coronavirus testing site at Dreamland Car Park in Margate.

In Canterbury, environmental services including flytipping and graffiti cleaning have been suspended as well as bin collections. A spokesman said: "We will review the decision every day but the forecast is not an optimistic one. Public toilets are open."

In Maidstone, bin collections have been suspended in several areas including Headcorn, Staplehurst, Marden, Yalding, Laddingford, Sutton Valence, Hunton, Coxheath and Nettlestead.

A spokesman for the council said: "Please leave your bins out readily available for when the crews return to catch up.

"All garden waste collections are also suspended for the week. The crews will aim to catch up as soon as it's safe to do so.We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

Swale Borough Council has also suspended collection of refuse, recycling, food waste, garden waste, clinical waste and bulky waste.

A spokesman said: "Collections will resume as soon as it is safe to do so. Please leave your bins out, crews will get to them as soon as possible when collections resume.

"If you have a bulky waste collection booked, please do not put the items out yet, and keep any eye on our feed for updates. We thank you for your understanding."

The severe weather conditions have also forced Gillingham Market to close today.

Leeds Castle has also closed to the public today.

But not everyone has been adversely affected by the weather - the sight of snow can be delightful if you're old enough to go out and play in it.

Although that might not be the case for twins India and Byron Wright, it was certainly the case for their older brothers Albie, six, and Joseph, four.

The boys donned matching red coats and mustard woolly hats to dutifully hold their 15 week-old siblings for their first pictures in the snow.

Then the boys, who attend Aldington Primary, set about making their own snowman in their garden in the village.

They are the children of Gemma and Chris Wright, originally of Kingsdown and Whitfield respectively.

Yesterday, South East 4x4 Response deployed 25 people to help people in the snow.

This included getting key workers to and from hospitals and road support to clear members of the public who were stuck.

They are back out today doing the same jobs and have 10-15 members on standby for any emergency call outs.

Alan Moles from South East 4x4 Response

The Met Office has warned of more bad weather to come after issuing an amber weather warning.

It has warned of long delays and cancellations on public transport and added: "There is a good chance that roads may become blocked by deep snow, with many stranded vehicles and passengers likely.

"Long interruptions to power supplies and other services, such as gas, water, telephone and mobile phone coverage likely."

The Met Office also anticipates frequent snow showers across Kent on Tuesday and Wednesday.

And the Chequers on the Green pub in High Halden, Ashford, also had a bit of fun with this Facebook post.

This comes after snow caused havoc on the county's roads and rail lines yesterday.

HGV drivers were stricken amid delays on the Sheppey crossing due to a blockage, vehicles veered off carriageways and Southeastern cancelled services on several routes.

The events prompted a warning against all but essential travel.

Watch KMTV'S report on the heavy snowfall as Storm Darcy wreaked havoc on the county's transport links

For all the forecasts, warnings and weather related news, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Kent