After weeks of fraying tempers in traffic queues on the A12 drivers were again plagued by delays today.

But this time it was a humble manhole cover which caused the chaos.

Despite roadworks finishing last week, commuters again were caught in queues after the manhole collapsed in the middle of the road.

Rush hour traffic using the Colchester-bound carriageway of the Witham bypass was brought to a slow crawl after one lane was closed because of the dangerous hole.

And delays looked set to continue throughout the day when both lanes were closed and traffic was diverted for 250 metres on to the Colmans interchange slip road to allow for repairs.

The Highways Agency aimed to fix the manhole before peak hour traffic this evening.

Drivers reported the problem at Colmans Bridge to Chelmsford police last night and temporary repairs were carried out overnight.

Motorists heading for the M25 last night found themselves in another nightmare jam after clearing the A12 chaos.

An accident on the motorway at junction six saw seven miles of queues clockwise - made up of drivers rubber-necking an accident on the other carriageway.

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