A man had to be cut free from a car this morning after a rush hour crash.

Firefighters used hydraulic cutting equipment to release the man trapped in a vehicle after the smash in Glebe Lane, Barming, at about 8.30am.

Paramedics took him to hospital, but the extent of his injuries is not known.

The crash closed the road in both directions.

The incident added to the chaos on the town's roads caused by roadworks and a burst water main.

Queues formed in all directions from Loose Road, where temporary traffic lights have been installed near to the junction with Armstrong Road.

Congestion was made worse by a burst pipe in nearby Park Way.

Engineers from South East Water were at the scene and hoped to repair the fault by 10am.

The distruption affected all town centre routes, including Sutton Road, Royal Engineers Road, Sheals Crescent, College Road and Palace Avenue.

Kent Highways warned drivers to expect long delays.

Kim Street, from Nu-Venture buses, said: "It's caused major havoc all morning. The buses are all over the place.

"I feel sorry for the poor people waiting at the bus stops."

Arriva’s regional publicity manager, Richard Lewis, said some school buses were delayed too, with journeys from Staplehurst into town and Headcorn to town taking three hours.

“We are sorry that our customers suffered long delays on most of our routes in the Maidstone area this morning due to the considerable traffic congestion caused by a series of road works and accidents over which we obviously have no control.

"Some buses coming into Maidstone from the south at school time took three hours to complete journeys that would normally take one hour and the delays have had a knock-on effect throughout the area, and beyond, with drivers being unable to take up their following journeys at the scheduled time and many buses being subjected to delays both on their way out of town and again on the way back in.”