Motorists urged to take care on icy roads

Motorists have been urged to take extra care on the roads

Drivers have been warned to take extra care as the freezing weather creates icy and "very dangerous" conditions on the roads across Kent.

Temperatures are expected to fall up to -6C in parts of the county and Kent Police said it would make routes hazardous on Saturday.

Drivers have been warned to expect delays on the M25 and M20.

The Met Office said it would be mainly dry overnight but there could be outbreaks of rain, sleet or snow.

Homes without power

Ch Supt Alan Horton, of Kent Police, said: 'We are expecting temperatures to plunge again tonight and that will mean all road surfaces could be very dangerous first thing tomorrow morning.

"We advise people to listen to local radio and check Kent Police and other news websites for travel information."

Operation Stack, under which lorries waiting to cross the Channel on ferries park on the M20, was stood down at about 1430 GMT.

More than 1,000 homes in north Kent have been without power following an electrical fault.

UK Power Networks said engineers were working to restore supplies to customers in Gillingham.

A spokesman said the extreme weather conditions had been hampering their efforts and apologised for the delays.

Both Southeastern Trains and Southern Railway said they ran a limited service in Kent on Friday.

There were no trains between Hastings and Tunbridge Wells, Rochester and Swanley and Sheerness and Sittingbourne.

Services between Sevenoaks and London and Dartford and London were also cancelled. Medway Valley line trains were suspended too.

Both rail firms urged people to start their journeys home early.

Medway Council hired a digger to clear the coach park at Gas House Lane, Rochester, ahead of the weekend's Dickens festival.

Waste and recycling collections have been cancelled in Medway and waste recycling centres are currently closed.

The UK has been experiencing the earliest widespread snowfall since 1993.