Huge jam on flooded M25

Part of the M25 was closed for eight hours today by a torrent of water four feet deep.

The flood caused rush-hour chaos with a 20-mile tailback from the scene of a burst water main at Thurrock in Essex. At least five motorists were trapped when they drove into the wall of water shortly after midnight.

Tow trucks were sent to rescue the drivers and move the cars which had filled with water. Police immediately closed off the area and began diverting traffic.

The flood closed all the M25 lanes between junctions 29 and 30 - the route from Essex to the Dartford crossing - from 12.30am to 8.30am.

Also shut were junctions 31 to 30 in the anti-clockwise direction, the link to the A13 into London. Maintenance workers reopened the motorway ahead of schedule but the Highways Agency said it would be hours before the tailbacks cleared.

News of the chaos came as it was revealed that ministers are failing on six of the 17 targets set in John Prescott's 10-year transport plan which includes pledges to cut the number of cars on the road and getting people back on to public transport.

The Government's own independent think tank, the commission for integrated transport, suggested Labour made "heroic assumptions" about its ability to change Britain's travel patterns.