IT was "truly miraculous" no one was killed in a 100-car pile-up on a bridge in heavy fog, police have said.

Eight people were seriously injured and 35 taken to hospital following the crash on the Sheppey crossing bridge in Kent, which started at around 7.15am yesterday. It then continued for 10 minutes as cars and lorries crashed into each other in visibility that was down to 25 yards, with many people - including a family with a nine-month-old child - having narrow escapes.

It is believed to be the biggest accident in fog in living memory, with around 200 people seen by medical staff at the scene on the London-bound carriageway travelling off the Isle of Sheppey.

Lives were probably saved because an unidentified quick-thinking lorry driver used his truck to block the entrance to the bridge and stop more cars piling into the crash.

Chief Inspector Andy Reeves, from Kent Police, said: "It is truly miraculous. I think we're all very fortunate there were no fatalities."

Mr Reeves said it was too early to say what had caused the accident but the heavy fog, which often shrouds the bridge, and driver behaviour were possible factors.