A busy road was closed for two hours after a dustcart caught fire.

Smoke billowed across the Little Clacton bypass and traffic came to a standstill.

The dustcart driver was on his way to the dump at 10.30am yesterday when the fire started.

It is thought an oil hose may have burst.

Sub-officer John Smith, of Clacton fire station, said the driver's cab filled with smoke.

Two fire engines from Clacton went to the vehicle, which was on the Colchester-bound track of the bypass, between Weeley and the Bovills roundabout.

Fire crews put the fire out in 15 minutes.

Mr Smith said: "The driver heard a bang and noticed smoke. He pulled over and got out right away. By the time we got there it was quite a severe fire. The cab was gutted."

The driver of the Onyx UK cab was the only person in the dustcart at the time and he was not injured.

There was so much smoke traffic was forced to stop.

Police diverted traffic from either entrance to the bypass while the road was made safe. The road was shut from 10.40am to 12.30pm.

Fire crews spent 90 minutes damping down and clearing the road of diesel.

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