Remains of lorry has been cleared as resurfacing work starts

Motorists face delays into a second day on sections of the M25 and M26 after a lorry burst into flames following a crash.

Dashcam footage showed fire engulfing the lorry and a plume of smoke rising into the sky on Sunday night.

In an update at 20:00 BST on Monday, National Highways said the remains of the lorry had been cleared and resurfacing work could begin on the most affected part of the carriageway – which was expected to be completed by Tuesday morning.

It had said the closure of the M25 clockwise between junction five near Sevenoaks and junction six near Godstone, in Surrey, was likely to remain in place throughout Monday.

The incident happened on the clockwise carriageway between Clacket Lane service station and junction 6 on Sunday night.

The Tesco delivery lorry driver escaped with minor injuries following the crash, according to police.

Traffic on the M26 westbound between junction 2A near Wrotham Heath and M25/A21 was also diverted.

Six fire crews, South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) and officers from Surrey Police attended the scene.

National Highways said a separate incident closing the east tunnel at Dartford meant the M26 diversion route was “severely congested”.

Robert Bell, network operations manager for National Highways in the South East, said: “The challenging nature and extensive damage these incidents have caused means the closures are going to run into tonight’s commute and my advice is to please plan your journey, allow extra time, and avoid the area if you possibly can.”

Fire crews were at the scene of the lorry fire for 10 hours.

Surrey Police said: “The M25 remains affected in both directions between J5 and J6.

“The anti-clockwise carriageway has reopened, but lane 3 and 4 (of 4) remain closed within J6.”