A motorist has blamed police for an accident which made him late for a job interview - with the police.

Daniel Harris spun off the road while driving past the scene of an accident on the A12 near Colchester.

The road had just been re-opened. Mr Harris saw another car which had already spun off as he approached the scene, near the Ardleigh Crown interchange.

"I slowed down and the next thing I knew the car had skidded to the left and was headed towards the back of a lorry," he said.

"I avoided the lorry but went up the verge."

Mr Harris, of Mumford Road, West Bergholt, said oil on the road had caused him to lose control of his black Renault Clio.

"The road obviously wasn't safe enough to be reopened," he said.

Insp Steve Brewer, of Stanway road policing, said road engineers "heavily sanded" the road on Saturday morning and it was considered safe to be opened.

"Unfortunately, the heavens opened at that point," he said.