Traffic chaos gripped Chelmsford after a cyclist was killed in a road smash.

The town centre was gridlocked after accident investigators shut off the A414 Essex Yeomanry Way at Great Baddow as the rush-hour started on Tuesday afternoon.

The cyclist was in collision with a motorcycle and fell into the middle of the road on the Southend-bound track at its junction with the A1114.

The man was then in collision with a minibus and was killed outright. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man, who has not been named by police, was in his late 30s and lived in the Maldon area. The Essex coroner has been informed of the accident and an inquest will be held at a later date after a post mortem examination.

No-one else was injured.

he road closure after the collision caused major traffic problems throughout Chelmsford, with hundreds of motorists stuck in jams.

The problems did not ease until around 7.30pm.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident, which happened at around 4.15pm.

Anyone with information about yesterday's fatal accident should contact Chelmsford traffic police on 01245 452918.

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