NORTH Essex descended into traffic chaos after a lorry overturned on a busy road before two other rush hour crashes caused further disruption.

The northbound carriageway of the A12 came to an abrupt stop at about 6am today after a lorry ended up on its side.

The crash, which happened near the Eight Ash Green junction, resulted in all lanes heading towards Colchester being closed and several miles of traffic stretched back to junction 25 at Marks Tey.

Essex Police officers are now appealing for anyone with information to contact the force to help them with their investigation.

Gazette:

A spokesman said: “We were called to a collision on the A12 near Stanway to reports a lorry had overturned shortly before 6am.

“If you have any information you can call us on 101 and quote incident number 103 of 11 October.”

Helen Stone, of Colchester, witnessed the incident from on top of the Chitts Hill bridge, which spans the width of the A12 and joins two parts of Halstead Road.

Helen, who was walking her dog, said: “I could see the blue flashing lights so it was clear that there was trouble – thank God I cycle to work because the A12 was stuffed.

“By the time I walked home London Road was just solid and my neighbour even had trouble getting off of his drive.

“The whole of Colchester was just in red on my maps by 8am, so I knew we would be short at work as staff wouldn’t be able to get in. It was chaos.”

Lianne MacLellan, of Colchester, said her husband got caught up in the chaos.

She said: "He had to take four detours to get our son to school."

As a result of the early morning crash on the A12, many drivers were diverted to alternative routes and roads, including Maldon Road.

Shortly before 9am, however, two vehicles were involved in an accident in Maldon Road near the Fountain Lane junction resulting in another lengthy road blockage.

No-one was seriously injured in the crash but one person was reported on suspicion of reckless driving.

Then, five vehicles were involved in a crash on the A120 near the junction of Clacton Road and Bradfield Road in Wix.

The major road was closed off to traffic while the emergency services worked.

No-one was injured and no arrests were made.

Anyone with information about any of the above incidents is asked to submit a report online at essex.police.uk or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The Safer Essex Roads Partnership was contacted but did not respond before going to print.