Torrential rain has brought chaos to Essex, with major roads across the county closed due to flooding.

Heavy rain on Saturday night and throughout yesterday (Sunday) left many routes impassable and stretched the resources of the county's emergency services.

The mid-Essex region, particularly around the Braintree and Chelmsford areas, was affected worst.

By midday yesterday the A12 was closed in both directions at Kelvedon as County Highways engineers struggled to clear blocked drainage ditches.

The A120 was also shut at Hollies Road, Braintree, and flooding on roads near Stansted Airport also caused long tailbacks.

Essex Police advised drivers to take extra care and not to travel at all unless absolutely necessary.

There will be further updates on the problems caused by the bad weather on This Is Essex later today (Monday), and you can read more in today's Evening Gazette and Evening Echo

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.