Roadworks on the A2 at Bapchild are believed to have been the cause of huge tailbacks around Sittingbourne this morning.

Traffic was backed up on all major routes in the town after the temporary lights went up near the London Road junction with Hempstead Lane.

A Kent County Council spokesman said the work was being carried out by UK Power Networks and had been in place since Friday.

Drivers took to social media to vent their fury after taking more than an hour to drive just a few miles, with journeys taking more than four times longer than usual.

Bus company Arriva was forced to alert passengers to delays to its 333 and 334 services.

And traffic was queuing on slip roads off the Sheppey-bound A249 at Bobbing and Grovehurst, as routes including Staplehurst Road were jammed.

A UK Power Networks spokesman said: “Due to an earlier fault in the Bapchild area, we are carrying out essential repair work at the site which has involved the use of temporary traffic lights on London Road.

“These are to ensure that our engineers can safely and quickly carry out their essential work.

“We always try to minimise disruption in incidents such as this, and the traffic lights are being manually controlled during peak times to help traffic flow as much as possible.

“UK Power Networks apologises for any inconvenience caused.”

A KCC officer is due to be at the site tomorrow to check the contractors are sticking to the terms of a works agreement, which included operating the traffic lights manually.