M25 chaos as clear up goes on

A stretch of Britain's busiest motorway will remain closed this morning following a fatal petrol-tanker crash.

The Highways Agency said lane one of the anti-clockwise carriageway of the M25 between junction five in Kent and junction six in Surrey will be shut until about midday.

Workers were at the scene during rush hour mopping up the last of the spilt petrol. A Highways Agency spokeswoman said: "There is fuel in a ditch and on the road, so lane one and the hard shoulder will be closed while it's made safe and cleared up."

She said it had been thought the road would have to be resurfaced, but that was no longer believed necessary.

An 11-mile section of the M25 was closed on Friday evening when a Texaco tanker clipped another lorry, overturned and landed in a field. Driver Stephen Goater, 30, of Ilford, was trapped in the wreckage of the cab and pronounced dead at the scene.

The affected stretch of road was closed in both directions, leading to chaos for drivers over the weekend.