Disabled parking at a Kent hospital has been described as “shambolic” after more than 20 cars were pictured queuing for spaces.

Frustrated patients at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford were seen lining up waiting for a spot in the blue badge car park opposite the main entrance.

Ashford resident Steve Salter, who was accompanying a friend to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, told KentOnline the site “was at a complete standstill”.

He says blue badge parking has been an “absolute nightmare” since work to extend the A&E department began.

“I would say there were about 20 to 25 cars waiting to use the car park,” he said.

“It’s a shambles as there seems to be constant queues now.

“It was at a complete standstill on Tuesday, it was one in and one out. They even had security there to manage the traffic.”

Despite the complaints, the East Kent Hospitals Trust says blue badge parking spaces have only decreased from 52 to 50 since the improvement work on the A&E unit started.

And bosses confirmed they have been able to create “an additional 22 disabled parking bays in the area that was occupied by the building contractors” which are due to open at the start of October.

They added: “Additional traffic marshals have been on site while the building work was ongoing, to maintain safety for patients and staff and to advise visitors on available parking.”

The extension to the A&E, the first part of which opened last September, includes 12 rapid assessment bays and a large new ambulance entrance.

Bosses said the work – which is now complete – “would help the team see and treat more patients in a timely way” and “in much improved surroundings”.

In June, a bid to the government for £460 million to transform healthcare in east Kent was rejected.

The trust had applied for the cash for two potential options – either concentrating services at a new state-of-the art build in Canterbury or upgrading existing facilities in Ashford and Margate.

But the bid failed to make the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) shortlist of 40 new-build projects in a decision described as a “devastating blow” for patients and staff.