A woman remains in a serious condition in hospital after a three-car crash on the M20 yesterday morning.

The 27-year-old from Sittingbourne was driving her Smart Roadster along the London-bound carriageway when she was involved in a collision with a Citroen C5 at around 11.30am.

She was airlifted to hospital, where her condition is described as life-threatening and the picture above shows the busy motorway close and at a standstill as two air ambulances landed.

The woman's passenger, a 34-year-old man from Sittingbourne, was also taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical but stable condition.

The driver of the Citroen was unhurt.

A third vehicle, a Fiat, was also caught up in the crash. Three occupants of the car remain in hospital, although their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. Their condition is described as stable.

Part of the M20 was shut for almost five hours following the crash, causing long delays on the motorway, as well as on the A20, A229 and A249, as drivers tried to avoid the queues.

The road was fully re-opened at around 3.35pm.