M25 chaos after lorry jack-knifes

A lorry containing boxes of golf balls which jack-knifed across the clockwise carriageway of the M25 in Surrey led to a traffic tailback of 20 miles.

The accident at junction seven, where the M25 meets the M23, caused traffic chaos back to junction three in Kent.

Lanes one and two - the dedicated lanes for the M23 - were closed at 0545 BST.

The congestion was easing six hours later, with reports of six mile tailbacks, but motorists were warned traffic was still moving very slowly.

Drivers on the M26 heading westbound onto the clockwise M25 were also affected.

Eyewitnesses said hundreds of boxes of golf balls spilled onto the motorway when the lorry jack-knifed.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

The Highways Agency control centre at Godstone said a forklift truck helped to remove the load, before the lorry was taken off the carriageway.