Fuming motorists were stuck for hours in queues along the A12 after a section of it crumbled near Colchester.

The surface of the north-bound carriageway began to break up in the road widening and resurfacing works at Stanway shortly before 3.30pm on Tuesday.

Queues started to build up as contractors working on the road directed traffic off the affected part of the road.

Essex Police spokesman Norman Hicks said the contraflow system was re-routed, reducing the south-bound carriageway to one lane although two lanes were open north-bound.

But by the evening rush hour six-mile tailbacks were stretching up towards Ipswich as drivers slowly got through the works.

Police sent out advisory notices for drivers to avoid the area but for many it was too late.

Mr Hicks said: "By 9.17pm we got a message that the road had been dealt with by the contractors."

Irate motorist David Grocott spent two hours stuck in the queues on his journey from Harwich to Stanway.

"I was distraught. I think it was because it was down to one lane with a large volume of traffic at that time. For a lot of the time in the roadworks we just weren't moving at all," he said.

A Highways Agency spokeswoman said: "Rain had got into the foundations and started to wash them away so one lane had to be closed leaving us initially one lane north-bound and two south-bound.

"Because most of the traffic was north-bound we opened one lane of the south-bound contraflow."

"It was unfortunate that it was during peak hours but we had to close the lane."

PC Martin Bowditch, of Stanway traffic police, said: "There were large sections of the road which were crumbling but it did not collapse."

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