A man died and the A12 was shut this afternoon (Thursday) as torrential rain took its toll on transport across Essex.

During the night an estimated 15.6mm of rain fell on the county and the downpour continued into this morning.

A man died on the A12 today when he was in collision with a dark red Ford Ka just before 12.30pm near Kelvedon.

He had left his car in an attempt to alert traffic to another vehicle causing an obstruction on the London-bound carriageway on a bend. The road was closed in both directions.

Police urgently want to trace the driver of a white box van who may have witnessed the fatal accident.

Rivers in the county are on flood watch with the situation being monitored by the Environment Agency.

And the road at Birch was also deep underwater.

Meanwhile, south Essex travellers faced similar chaos on the A13 and A127.

Flooding blackspots in Southend included North Shoebury Road in Shoebury, and the A127 at the junction with St Michael's Road at Rayleigh.

The slip road to the A127 from the M25 was one of dozens closed off.

Police were also considering closing the London-bound carriagway on the A127 which was gridlocked due to flooding.

Several roads on Canvey have also been reported as passable with extreme caution including Western Esplanade and Furtherwick Road.

A spokeswoman for Essex police said: "We are advising all motorists to travel with care. There is an awful lot of flooding out there. There will be delays so we are asking people to be patient."

South Essex commuters also faced continued disruption to rail services between the Southend Victoria and Liverpool Street stations.

Train travellers were dealt another blow as it became clear that the landslip on the Southend Victoria to London line would not be cleared by the mid-week estimate that rail operator First Great Eastern was hoping for.

A spokeswoman said: "We will be having delays up until Saturday of up to half-an-hour.

"We are trying to work to a regular timetable at the moment, but we may have to bring in an emergency timetable."

Anyone with information about the fatal road accident should contact Essex police on 01245 464222.

For more information on the flooding siuation call Floodline on 0845 9881188 or visit: www.environment-agency.gov.uk

(Right) Nightmare - this broken-down car caused chaos this morning on the A127 at Thundersley as drivers sought a way around the vehicle

Picture: STEPHEN LLOYD

(Left) Riptide -- motorists pick their way through flooding on the Maldon Road at Birch.

Picture: STEVE ARGENT

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