Colchester's A12 and A120 closed for two separate incidents

Motorists faced widespread congestion on the A12 southbound and the A120 today.

A vehicle towing a trailer was involved in an incident on the A12 southbound shortly after 1pm.

This led to the A12 southbound between Junction 28 which leads to the Jobserve Stadium and Junction 27 Cymbeline Way, being closed whilst Essex Police attended the scene.

At the time, an Essex Police spokesman said the vehicle had “overturned” and there were “no reports of any injuries”.

The force - two Essex Police cars (Image: Essex Police) They said: "The road was closed whilst the incident was being dealt with.

“We’d like to thank motorists for their understanding and patience."

The incident caused “severe delays” back to Junction 29 and on roads leading towards Colchester’s city centre.

Motorist Brandon Harris avoided the traffic as he was on the other side of the A12.

He said: “I only saw the aftermath, but it looked like a Land Rover was towing it and lost control.

“Luckily, I was heading out of Colchester, but people were staring at the incident.”

Elsewhere, the A120 was shut both ways between Coggeshall and Marks Tey after a vehicle carrying hay overturned in the road.

Incident - an image of the A120 approaching the A12 (Image: Google Maps) Officers were on the scene and diversions had been put in place by National Highways.

Eastbound motorists were advised to exit the A120 at the Great Notley Interchange and take the A131 southbound towards Chelmsford, continue to meet the A120 at Junction 19.

Westbound motorists were told to remain on the A12 southbound and exit at Junction 19 to join the A131 northbound and continue to the Great Notley Interchange with the A120 near Braintree.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “We closed the road temporarily to clear the road and make the scene safe.

“No arrests were made, and no injuries were reported.”

At the time, it was expected that the road would remain shut until 8.30pm but it was cleared and fully reopened at around 3.05pm.

The A12 southbound reopened to motorists around 3.30pm and the traffic congestion within the area continued to clear up.