Elton John fans at Kent concert hit by traffic problems

Elton John fans have said they faced delays of up to two hours driving to a concert by the music legend in Kent.

Organisers of the show at Detling showground said delays were caused by a crash near the M20 and heavy rain.

Warnings of delays came from Kent Police, external and Kent Highways, external as vehicles queued to reach the venue on Sunday.

Most fans were in their seats by the start of the gig, organisers said, but some voiced frustration over the traffic handling on social media.

The concert was run by Kent Event Centre, external, which said in a statement a crash on the A249 caused some queues.

An expected "staggered arrival" between 14:00 and 18:00 BST did not happen, it said.

Instead, people delayed their arrival because of heavy rain and a high volume then arrived at once, causing congestion.

Action was taken to open an extra entrance and manage the traffic and the exit strategy worked as planned, the statement said.

"The vast majority of fans were seated to watch Elton John as the performance began. A very small number of people entered the showground after Elton John's performance was under way," it said.

Venue managers said they would be looking into concerns raised by the public and reviewing the event.

But they have said parking fees will not be refunded.

On Twitter, rebeccak83 wrote, external: "£10 to park at the #Kent Showground for the Elton John gig & we're stuck in a none moving queue for over an hour now.Where are the stewards?"

But Mick Santer tweeted, external a picture and wrote: "Worth the traffic jams."