Motorists travelling to work were forced to avoid a man in distress standing in the middle of a busy road, as falling snow made conditions treacherous.

Calls were made to Kent Police at 5.30am following reports of a man who had been spotted on the A299 Thanet Way.

Rick Murray was travelling to work on the London bound carriageway around 6.30am, when he saw the figure in the centre of the tarmac.

Mr Murray said: "I was coming past the Dargate services, and he was just standing there in the middle of the road.

"He was dressed in black and just walking straight at me.

"The snow was pretty heavy, I don't know how I managed to see him to tell you the truth. It looked like he tried to hit the side of my car as I went past.

"When I saw no car, no high-vis on him, no lights clothes and all in black, then he needs some form of help I would have thought."

Mr Murray avoided the figure just after the Dargate services, three miles from where the road converges into the M2.

The stretch of road has no lights, making him all the more difficult to see.

A police spokesman said: "Kent Police was contacted at 5.30am on Friday, December 4 following concerns for the welfare of a man on the A299 Thanet Way.

"Officers attended and located the man, who has been passed to the care of healthcare professionals."

Conditions on the road this morning were already poor, after a mix of overnight snow and rain leading to slippery roads.

Elsewhere in the county a jacknifed lorry forced the M20 to be closed for 10 miles between Maidstone and Ashford.

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