M25 reopens after 12-hour closure as waste lorry overturns in crash

A section of the M25 motorway has reopened after being closed for around 12 hours because a lorry overturned and spilled waste.

The stretch from junction six (Godstone interchange, Surrey) to junction five (Chevening interchange, Kent) partially reopened at around 3.30pm on Wednesday, National Highways said.

It was closed after a crash between two lorries at 3.46am.

The closure affected thousands of vehicles heading to or from locations such as Heathrow and Gatwick airports, the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone.

A tanker involved in the collision was transporting waste and had “overturned and ruptured”, National Highways said.

The Government-owned company said oil, diesel and waste spilled on the carriageway.

It had warned drivers it was “highly likely this closure will be protracted as an extensive and complex clean-up and recovery operation will be required”.

A diversion route was created using A roads.

National Highways said delays reached up to 45 minutes on the approach to the closed section.

Three lanes will be closed overnight for resurfacing.