Britain’s busiest motorway closed after waste lorry overturned as thousands of motorists affected
14 May 2025, 09:04 | Updated: 14 May 2025, 09:40
A section of the M25 motorway is closed after a waste lorry got overturned in a crash with another HGV, spilling oil and waste over the road.
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The motorway is used by about 200,000 people per day, making it Britain's busiest.
The closure is affecting 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 has "overturned and ruptured", National Highways said.
The Government-owned company said oil, diesel and waste has spilled on the carriageway which means it is "highly likely this closure will be protracted as an extensive and complex clean-up and recovery operation will be required".
It also said the road will "likely to need resurfacing before it can be reopened".
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Emergency workers and specialist contractors were seen attending the scene.
A diversion route has been created using A roads and traffic caught within the closure is being released past the crash site.
National Highways reported the incident at 4.14am on Wednesday and said shortly after 7am there were delays of 40 minutes on the approach to the closed section.
The company said part of the road around Greater London will be closed throughout the Wednesday morning peak traffic period anti-clockwise from junction 6 (Godstone Interchange, Surrey) to junction 5 (Chevening Interchange, Kent).
