M25 traffic: Clockwise carriageway closed after 'serious' lorry fire near Sevenoaks

Watch: Latest video shows specialist recovery of the burnt out lorry.

Drivers are facing miles of queues and long delays to journeys today (Monday 21 October) after a serious lorry fire in Kent overnight.

The M25 and M26 have both been closed due to the incident, and National Highways has warned the clockwise carriageway of Britain's busiest motorway, near Sevenoaks, will remain closed for the rest of the day.

National Highways confirmed two lanes anti-clockwise have reopened between Junctions 5 for Sevenoaks and Junction 6 for Godstone.

The M26 has also been closed westbound between J2A near Wrotham Heath and M25/A21.

It says the clockwise carriageway is likely to remain closed throughout the day as specialist recovery will be required and the carriageway will likely need to be resurfaced.

National Highways says significant disruption is likely to last into this evening as repair work continues following two major incidents on the M25.

Watch: Drone footage shows emergency services tackling the fire on the M25 near Sevenoaks this morning.

A serious HGV fire was reported shortly after 10pm yesterday (Sunday) between junction 5 near Sevenoaks and junction 6 near Godstone on the clockwise carriageway.

The driver sustained minor injuries, according to Surrey Police.

Fire crews were at the scene for 10 hours, with the blaze causing major damage to the road surface and central reservation barrier.

Recovery of the vehicle has been complicated by the intensity of the fire, meaning parts of the HGV have disintegrated, and work is ongoing to remove debris from the carriageway. Specialist cutting equipment will be used to dismantle the remaining parts of the vehicle on site.

As at 6pm National Highways said there were still severe delays on all approaches. On the M25 there were still 90 minute delays clockwise with four miles of congestion. Anti-clockwise at J6, a lane closure remains in place with 60 minute delays and four miles of congestion.

A separate closure at the Dartford Crossing is further compounding issues after a large volume of hydraulic liquid leaked during essential overnight maintenance in one of the northbound tunnels at the Dartford Crossing.

On the A2 westbound, there are delays are 70 minutes with eight miles of queuing traffic on the approach to J3 of the M25.

Surrey Fire and Rescue confirmed it sent five fire engines and two water carriers to the road at around 11pm last night.

Surrey Police was also in attendance, and has warned drivers of significant delays. The cause of the fire is not yet known, and it is not yet known if anyone has been injured.

A spokesperson for the force told ITV Meridian drivers should avoid the area. They said: The M25 remains affected in both directions between J5 near Sevenoaks and J6 near Godstone, due to a single vehicle collision and fire yesterday evening (20 October) just after 10pm.

"Emergency services attended including Surrey Police and Surrey Fire and Rescue, and National Highways remain on scene. The anti-clockwise carriageway has re-opened, but lane 3 and 4 (of 4) remain closed within J6.

Two diversion routes have been put in place by National Highways.

Road users travelling clockwise are advised to follow the Hollow Triangle diversion symbol on road signs

• At M25 Junction 5 follow onto A21 and then take the second A25 exit towards Westerham.

• Follow A25 through Sundridge, Brasted, Westerham, Limpsfield and Oxted.

• Continue along A25 towards Godstone to A25 / A22 roundabout.

• Take 3rd exit onto A22 towards London to M25 Junction 6 "Godstone Interchange" and take 2nd exit and rejoin M25 towards Gatwick.

Road users that were intending to use the M26 are advised to follow the below diversion route and then the above diversion route for the closure from J5 of the M25 (Hollow Triangle).

• Exit the M26 at J2A and take the third exit onto the M20 at J2.

• Continue on the M20 to J1 and then join the M25 at J3 heading clockwise.

• Continue on the M25 towards J5 to resume your intended journey.

Drivers are warned that this diversion route is severely congested due to the further incident closing the east tunnel at Dartford.

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Robert Bell, Network Operations Manager for National Highways in the South East, advised drivers to avoid the area if they can.

“The challenging nature and extensive damage these incidents have caused means the closures are going to run into tonight’s commute and my advice is to please plan your journey, allow extra time, and avoid the area if you possibly can.

“We have diversions in place but due to these incidents impacting each other there is already significant disruption in the surrounding areas and we expect this to get worse as we move towards the evening commute.

“Getting these roads open is our absolute priority and we are doing everything we can to make that happen.

“The M25 and the Dartford crossing are major parts of the strategic road network, and we understand the inconvenience and disruption any closure has. We appreciate people’s patience and understanding while these significant repairs are undertaken.”