A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman’s body was found on a motorway in Kent.

Officers appealed for the driver of a silver Nissan Qashqai to come forward and a man handed himself in at a police station on Wednesday evening, Kent police said. He remained in custody on Thursday.

The body has been identified as a 32-year-old woman from Kent, police said.



Part of the London-bound M20 near Ashford was closed between junctions 9 and 10 for nearly 24 hours after officers found the body at 6.05pm on Tuesday. The person was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other details about the incident or the victim have so far been released.

The incident caused hours of delays, with queues of up to seven miles stretching back to junction 11. A diversion was put in place.

The road reopened shortly after 4pm on Wednesday.

A 21-year-old accountant from Ashford who was driving on the opposite side of the M20 said: “As I entered the motorway, I expected to see a crash, when I suddenly realised that it wasn’t and unfortunately it appeared to be a body lying in the central lane, with police and ambulance staff around it.

“Because of the torches being shone by police, it appeared that the body had been struck by vehicles. It was very shocking. It is not a sight I would want anyone to witness. My condolences are with the family of the deceased.”

Police had appealed for drivers who were on the motorway at the time of the incident to check their vehicles for signs of a collision and look at dashcam footage.