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Firefighters had to use hydraulic rescue equipment to help release a woman earlier this evening (Thursday 14th January) who was trapped following a crash on the M2 coast-bound between junctions 1 (Rochester, Gillingham and Grain) and 2 (Strood).

Kent Fire & Rescue Service (KFRS) were called at 19.09hrs to the scene. The driver was removed from the vehicle and passed in to the care of the South East Coast Ambulance Service.

Motorway traffic was not disrubted during the incident due to the time of day.

The current problems on the A249 Northbound, just before Sittingbourne at the Key Street Underpass, look set to continue until the weekend.

In a Statement issued by Southern Water this afternoon to 106.9 SFM they confirm that: "works to replace a burst main on the A249 will take around five days, with completion on Sunday 17th January.
Water supplies remain unaffected and we would like to reassure our customers that we have a contingency plan in place to ensure we can continue to supply water as usual. We appreciate this has an had an impact on road users and apologise for the inconvenience to their daily journeys. Our crews are working around the clock to fix the problem as quickly as possible and we would like to thank drivers for their patience while this vital work is carried out".

Southern Water's engineers are working to repair the burst main and this will include the installation of a replacement water mains. All of this work is being undertaken beneath the carriageway and is not visible to road users. Using specialist equipment they are directionally drilling under the road with excavation works being carried out in adjacent fields.

After these works have been carried out Southern Water have confirmed that they "must ensure the water supply is safe for public consumption by carrying out strict water quality sampling. This will take between one to two days, depending on the results of the tests. Once the work is complete Highways England will have to carry out an assessment of the structural integrity of the highway to ensure it is safe for road users".

Kent Fire and Rescue Service were called to a fire in a first floor bedroom of a semi-detached property on Purple Emperor Grove in Iwade earlier this afternoon (Friday 1st January).

On arrival fire crews found a bedroom on fire and used breathing apparatus, a hose reel jet, thermal imaging camera and a ventilation fan to tackle the blaze and clear the property of smoke.

The fire was accidental and it's believed it was caused by a cable, similar to a USB cable, that was plugged in to the power where the wire insulation had completely being burnt off.

A man who attempted to steal millions of pounds from a Swanley cash depot and computer chips from a consignment at Heathrow Airport has been jailed for a total of 11 years and three months.

38 years-old Karl Delaney, formerly of Sittingbourne, was part of a group of offenders who targeted the Loomis Cash Depot in Mark Way, Swanley, on Friday 23rd March 2012.

The gang used a stolen heavy-duty digger to break through the outside wall of the depot and gain access to the inside of the premises. Once the wall had been damaged the gang, who were armed with baseball bats and white sacks, climbed over the rubble only to realise they had knocked over the wrong wall. They then entered a nearby warehouse but found the building to also be empty and fled the scene with nothing. In August 2014 a 52 year-old man from Folkestone was sentenced in connection with the offence, and officers continued to hunt Delaney.

He was traced to Ireland and in early December 2015 and was extradited back to England from Ireland to face justice.

Delaney was also sentenced for his role in the theft of computer chips worth close to £2 million. The chips were part of a larger consignment that was being transported by lorry from Ireland to Holland, via the UK, in September 2012. Delaney, and a group of men that he was travelling with, travelled to Bedfont, close to Heathrow Airport and waited for several hours for the load to arrive before striking.

On Monday (7th December), having pleaded guilty, Delaney was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to a total of 11 years and three months in prison.

Detective Sergeant Rik Spicer, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, told SFM News: "Delaney took part in two offences; one was a high value theft and the other certainly had the potential. Delaney has evaded justice for almost three years but we are pleased to see him be returned to England and sentenced to a long time in prison for his part in the offences."