MOTORISTS were left stuck on the A12 for hours and endured traffic chaos across Colchester after police closed the busy main road following concerns for the safety of a man.

The A12 was shut down between Marks Tey and the Colchester United Football Stadium in both directions for several hours today from 11.15am.

The closure came into force after Essex Police officers were called to worrying reports of a "man on a bridge” near Junction 26 for Stanway.

Officers subsequently closed the A12 between Junction 25 to Junction 28 on the Colchester-bound carriageway and Junction 28 to Junction 26 on the London-bound side.

Gazette: Blocked - drivers were getting out of the cars after being stuck for most of the dayBlocked - drivers were getting out of the cars after being stuck for most of the day (Image: Public)

READ MORE: Man arrested after incident which closed A12 for hours, police confirm 

The main carriageway at Junction 19 for Boreham was also closed to help with delays.

As a result of the incident, drivers were left at a standstill for hours on end as police worked to safely resolve the incident and relieve congestion.

One motorist who was stuck told the Gazette shortly after lunchtime they had not moved "for two hours", and added they "hadn’t seen anyone go the other way" for equally as long.

Another driver, meanwhile, said they “moved ten car spaces in three and a half hours”.

Gazette: Stuck - drivers were left stranded in long queues on the A12Stuck - drivers were left stranded in long queues on the A12 (Image: Public)

The closure also impacted traffic across the city with First Bus suffereing “severe delays to all Colchester services”, and main roads such as Cowdray Avenue, Ipswich Road, Mill Road, Brook Street and more battling heavy congestion.

North Station roundabout and Greenstead roundabout were also affected.

Motorists travelling on the Colchester-bound carriageway were diverted through Copford, Stanway and Lexden.

Those travelling London-bound were taken off through Colchester and Lexden before rejoining the dual carriageway at Eight Ash Green.

Gazette: Queues - there were miles of congestion due to the closureQueues - there were miles of congestion due to the closure (Image: Public)

By about 3.30pm, traffic was being released via the rear of the queue in both directions before Essex Police confirmed shortly before 5pm the incident had finally been resolved.

A spokesman said: "We have now resolved a situation which had led to the A12 near Stanway to be closed.

"A man has now been brought to safety and the roads are re-opening.

"Thank you for your patience and understanding while we worked to resolve this incident safely."

The A12 reportedly fully reopened at about 6.30pm.