THE northbound carriageway of the A12 at Kelvedon has reopened following a lorry fire.

Russell Claydon

THE northbound carriageway of the A12 at Kelvedon has reopened following a lorry fire.

Motorists faced long delays after the 40-foot articulated vehicle caught fire just before 5pm tonight, with the fire brigade initially having to close the whole road to deal with the blaze.

Essex Police said the northbound carriageway was reopened at around 9pm but there was still heavy traffic.

Three Essex fire crews had been at the scene and described the fire as having engulfed the lorry, which was carrying a full load of aluminium. Both sides of the carriageway were closed at first due to a large amount of smoke which was reducing visibility.

Essex Police have confirmed the lorry driver was not injured and no other vehicles were involved.