Motorists warned of delays on M25

The tanker overturned into a field at the side of the M25

Drivers on the M25 in Surrey and Kent have been warned about delays on a stretch of road which was closed for two days after a fatal tanker crash.

The M25 was closed in both directions between junctions 5 and 6 after Friday's accident, which killed a man.

The clockwise stretch reopened on Saturday. Part of the anti-clockwise section was reopened on Sunday night.

But the hard shoulder and inside lane remain shut anti-clockwise despite repair work overnight.

It had been feared the road might have needed to be resurfaced if the fuel had seeped in too deeply.

That would have caused traffic chaos for thousands commuters for days on what is Britain's busiest motorway.

At least 6,000 were believed to have been caught in traffic jams on the M25 on Saturday, with many more stuck on connecting roads.

A further 3,000 were caught on Sunday, after the clockwise section of the road had been reopened.

Risk of explosion

The driver killed in the crash has been named by Surrey Police as 30-year-old Stephen Goater, from Ilford in Essex.

The M25 remained empty around the crash scene for 24 hours

Police said his Texaco tanker, carrying 33,000 litres of petrol and diesel, clipped the back of a lorry in front of it and overturned into a field.

The road was closed because of the risk of explosion posed by the spilt fuel but took longer than expected to clear after more was spilt when the tanker was pulled upright.

When the road reopened drivers were told to keep their windows shut because of fumes.

Surrey Police left the scene at about 11pm on Saturday when the road re-opened in one direction and handed the scene over to the Highways Agency.

On Sunday afternoon a Highways Agency spokeswoman said there was fuel mixture in the ditch and on the carriageway, and specialist equipment would be needed to remove it.

The M26 in Kent was also closed throughout Saturday because its junction with the M25 was shut but that was also reopened by Sunday morning.