M25 and M26 closures due to lorry fire

· BBC News

Katy Docherty-Warren
BBC News, South East

Closures on the M25 and M26 due to a lorry fire are likely to last until midday, road users have been warned.

The M25 is closed clockwise between junction five near Sevenoaks and junction six near Godstone/Caterham, according to Highways England. Diversions are in place.

Traffic on the M26 westbound between J2A near Wrotham Heath and M25/A21 has also been diverted.

Surrey Police said the driver of the lorry suffered minor injuries in the incident at about 22:00 BST on Sunday.

Six fire crews, South East Coast Ambulance Service and officers from Surrey Police attended the scene.

National Highways has said a separate incident closing the east tunnel at Dartford means the M26 diversion route is "severely congested".

A spokeswoman for Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said shortly after 07:00 BST on Monday that there was still one engine at the scene.

She said: "The crew are currently dampening down hot spots.

"We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all staff and partners who were involved in tackling this blaze.”

Surrey Police said: "The M25 remains affected in both directions between J5 and J6.

"The anti-clockwise carriageway has reopened, but lane 3 and 4 (of 4) remain closed within J6."

National Highways added that specialist recovery would be required and the road surface would likely need to be resurfaced.

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