OPERATION Stack is being blamed for causing gridlock as far away as Maidstone town centre on Wednesday morning.

Motorists trying to get into Maidstone town centre faced congestion whichever way they tackled their journey.

Some passengers abandoned their vehicles and completed their journey to work on foot.

Rush-hour traffic came to a standstill in Loose Road, Mote Road, Knightrider Street, Hayle Road and College Road, some of the main approaches into Maidstone.

Insp Simon Elgar, from Kent Police, said there had been no reports of any major incidents in Maidstone during the rush hour period.

He added that the heavy gridlock was likely to have been caused by motorists from all directions trying to avoid the M20.