Two days of chaos after tunnel fuel spill

A diesel spillage caused traffic chaos in parts of south-east London today.

Police were forced to close the northbound side of the Blackwall Tunnel after spotting the fuel slick that stretched for one and a half miles along the Blackwall Tunnel approach road.

Motorists were delayed for up to 80 minutes as they struggled to find alternative routes across the Thames.

A spokesman for travel data firm Trafficlink said:"It is as bad as we have seen it for years over much of south-east London. There are queues across Blackheath and through Greenwich."

Transport for London said that the spillage - which was spotted overnight and may have come from a ruptured fuel tank - had caused damage to the road surface. Sections of the road between the A2 and the tunnel would have to be repaired.

TfL warned that the resurfacing meant the northbound Blackwall Tunnel would be out of action for the rest of today and was expected to reopen "some time on Wednesday". The southbound tunnel remained open.

Motorists who were forced off the approach road were instead heading for the Dartford crossing, the Woolwich Ferry and Tower Bridge. All routes were today heavily congested, said Trafficlink.