A female footballer from Ebbsfleet United Ladies FC has been snapped having a kickabout on the hard-shoulder of the M25 near Swanley this morning.

Jade Smith, 19, who plays right back and  tweeted a picture of herself doing keepie uppies on the hard shoulder while she was stuck in gridlocked traffic behind a serious accident.

She tweeted: “Me and Charlie playing football on theM25 #gridlocked #toppingupthetan.”

Twitter user @Digitaldreammed then posted more snaps of the girls dribbling the ball down the side of the carriageway.

Colin Ward, the ladies first team manager, told News Shopper: "Jade is a diamond and the danger element would never have entered her mind. 

"She has played with us for four seasons and this just shows what she is like, she is football mad. 

"She is a full member of the squad and has her coaching badges and referees matches, she is also going out to America next year to coach. 

"She is a dedicated girl and probably thought that was the best way to occupy her mind at that time. 

"She will be a splendid ambassador for women's football in the future. 

"Yes this was a bit silly, but that's Jade." 

A spokeswoman for Kent Police said “it is simply not safe” to get out of the car on main roads, regardless if traffic is stationary or not.

She added: “An emergency vehicle may need to pass or a recovery vehicle could be using the hard shoulder.  Our advice is stay in your vehicle and wait for the road to be cleared.”

Traffic was brought to a standstill on the motorway following a collision involving two cars and a lorry at about 8am between junction two for Dartford and three for Swanley.

It involved a white Volvo artic, a black Citroën C1 and a black Kia Rio.

Fire crews used cutting equipment to release the woman, the driver of the Citroën, from her car.

It is thought the woman was flown to King's College Hospital in an air ambulance with more serious injuries and another patient was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital.

Various emergency services rushed to the scene including Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Kent Police, the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SEACamb), the air ambulance and Highways Agency officers.

A SEACamb spokesman said: "We were called at around 8am to junction three in Swanley.

"One patient was taken to Kings with more serious injuries although they were fully conscious when they were cut out of the car.

"Another patient was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital."

A Kent Police spokeswoman said: "We were called to the London-bound carriageway of the M25 at 8am today following a report of a three vehicle collision.

"The incident involved a white Volvo artic, a black Citroën C1 and a black Kia Rio."