Major delays as M25 crossing shuts
Last updated 59 minutes ago
Drivers have been stuck in huge queues after the M25 Dartford Crossing between Kent and Essex was closed in both directions because of a security alert.
Police ordered the closure when a pedestrian was arrested after being spotted behaving unusually, at about 16:00 BST.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was shut at 17:00 BST, with both tunnels shut 20 minutes later.
Kent Police said officers found a suspicious item, forcing the closures.
The toll booths at the Dartford Crossing have been cleared of vehicles
Officers have now begun the process of reopening Dartford Crossing and have confirmed that the item found does not pose a threat.
'Man was shouting'
There were reportedly nine-mile tailbacks in both Kent, on the anti-clockwise M25, and in Essex, on the clockwise stretch.
Ten-mile tailbacks on the A102 Blackwall Tunnel northbound in south-east London were also reported.
The A20 was also closed in Dover as officers stopped a coach as part of their inquiries into the Dartford Crossing incident.
The coach was removed from the scene, police said, and the road has now reopened. No further arrests have been made.
The A20 was due to be reopened soon, she added.
Motorists stuck in the queues have reported seeing an army bomb disposal vehicle, ambulances and emergency service vehicles heading towards the crossing.
Motorist Graeme Brouder, 36, from Twickenham in south-west London, said: "I was coming off the other side of the bridge towards the tolls at about 16:30 BST.
"I was about five cars from the barrier and I saw a guy out of the corner of my eye come running along the side of my car, he ran to the barriers.
"He came back towards the cars, he went across into the lane next to me, tried to get in the car next to me, he was shouting something - I had my windows up so I couldn't hear him.
"He was shouting at that car, tried to get in that car, ran past mine, tried my door handle, and then ran down the lane behind me and he was just shouting at everyone.
"He was running around, he was trying to get in everybody's cars."
Trapped vehicles
The force said it expected the crossing to be closed for some time and advised motorists to find alternative routes.
Trapped traffic on the bridge is being released and diverted back into Essex, while some trapped vehicles have been released from the tunnels.
The toll booths have also been cleared of traffic.
In London, there are severe delays in East Ham, Beckton, Bow, Woolwich, at the Blackwall Tunnel and all approaches to the M25.
The A11, A12 and A13 also have extra heavy traffic.
The A282 Dartford to Thurrock crossing over the River Thames, which consists of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and two tunnels, is used by 140,000 vehicles a day.
Traffic heading south into Kent uses the bridge, while northbound vehicles travelling to Essex use the tunnels, with the M25 linking up either side.
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