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Major delays after pile-up on M25 M25 reopens after 10-hour closure
(30 minutes later)
A man in his 20s was taken to hospital with serious chest injuries after a pile-up on the M25 in the rush hour which has led to 15-mile tailbacks. Part of the M25 in Surrey is being reopened after a four-vehicle crash in the morning rush hour closed a large section of the motorway for 10 hours.
The clockwise motorway remains closed after the crash involving two lorries, a van, and a car at about 0730 BST. There were tailbacks from the crash site between junctions six and seven clockwise which stretched 15 miles back into Kent.
The crash happened between junction six for Godstone, Surrey, and junction seven for the M23, serving Gatwick. Vehicles are queuing back into Kent. The Highways Agency said at 1700 BST that two lanes were due to be reopened.
A man in his 20s was taken to hospital with serious chest injuries following the accident at 0730 BST on Friday.
The pile-up between Godstone and the M23 turn-off involved two lorries, a van and a car.
'Difficult clear-up'
Fire teams said 30 tons of plasterboard was strewn across the carriageway.Fire teams said 30 tons of plasterboard was strewn across the carriageway.
Surrey Police said the carriageway was likely to remain closed until mid or late afternoon. Traffic had to be diverted off the motorway at junction six while investigations and a recovery operation took place.
"There will then be a period of time during which the tailback will have to clear - it could take several hours," said Insp Ian Lennock. A Highways Agency spokesman said: "There was somebody badly injured so it became a police investigation.
We were stuck for four-and-a-half hours on the M25, going about a mile an hour Julie Maddocks "After that it was a very difficult clear-up, with three large vehicles and a car, plus lots of debris across the carriageway."
The debris has covered the hard shoulder and all three lanes, a spokesman for Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said. One lorry ended up lying across two lanes of the carriageway.
One lorry was left across two lanes of the carriageway after the crash. Traffic was queuing for 15 miles back into Kent at one point
Some traffic ended up trapped between junction six and the crash scene - those vehicles were being turned back to that junction at 1030 BST so they could leave the motorway. The spokesman added that the vehicles yet to be recovered were now coned off in the one lane still closed to traffic.
Gatwick Airport is advising all travellers to avoid the motorway and try alternative routes or to use public transport. People stuck in the traffic are being advised to contact their airline direct to notify them. "Once it starts moving it should be about another hour before the traffic at the back [around junction five in Kent] starts coming through," he added.
Shaun Tipton, from the Association of British Travel Agents, said hundreds of people would be heading to Gatwick and "some of them clearly won't make it and will miss their flights". The closure led to severe delays for motorists heading for Gatwick Airport via the M23.
Traffic was queuing for 15 miles, with four-hour delays reported Travellers were advised to use alternative routes or public transport.
But he added they should still try to get to the airport. The Association of British Travel Agents said it was clear some people would miss their flights, and it said they should contact their airline directly and not give up trying to make it to the airport.
"Firstly, airlines often will put you on a later flight," he said. BBC Radio Kent presenter Julie Maddocks was one of the drivers stuck on the M25 on the way to Gatwick.
"And secondly, if you simply don't go to the airport, it's very difficult to prove to your insurance company."
He said people needed to prove they "made every effort to get there".
BBC Radio Kent presenter Julie Maddocks was one of the drivers stuck on the motorway on the way to Gatwick, after joining the M25 at 0745 BST.
She said traffic ground to a halt at Clacket Lane services where there were "a lot of irate drivers".She said traffic ground to a halt at Clacket Lane services where there were "a lot of irate drivers".
Friends she was taking to the airport missed their flight to Florida.
"We were stuck for four-and-a-half hours on the M25, going about a mile an hour," she said.