TRAVELLERS faced chaos on the roads and rail after the closure of the A14 and A12 carriageways and hour-long delays on the trains.

Annie Davidson

TRAVELLERS faced chaos on the roads and rail after the closure of the A14 and A12 carriageways and hour-long delays on the trains.

The A14 was shut in both directions after emergency services were alerted at 4.15pm on Monday with reports that three lorries and three cars had collided on the Felixstowe-bound carriageway just past the Orwell Bridge near Nacton.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Police said the road was also closed on the Bury St Edmunds-bound carriageway for the East Anglian Air Ambulance to land.

It flew the male driver of one of the lorries to hospital after fears he had suffered serious, potentially life-threatening injuries.

However, police said later the man was not as badly hurt as was first feared.

Just over an hour later the Bury St Edmunds-bound carriageway was blocked again after a two-car crash.

Reports of the incident first came in at 5.43pm and the road was completely blocked by the accident.

Suffolk Police said that by 6.45pm both carriageways were open but reduced to one lane and traffic was “extremely slow.”

Drivers trying to divert through Ipswich were also delayed by an accident between a cyclist and a car at the roundabout at the junction of Tuddenham Road and Colchester Road.

The 55-year-old male cyclist suffered cuts and bruises and was taken to hospital for a check-up.

And commuters were not faring much better with train services between Ipswich and Norwich being hit by signalling problems.

A reduced service was running with delays of up to an hour and buses had also been called in on the route.

A spokesman for National Express East Anglia said the signalling problems were between Diss and Stowmarket and were first reported at about 2.30pm.

Initially no trains were running between the two towns but after Network Rail made some temporary arrangements the reduced service began.

Drivers in Essex were also facing delays with the closure of the A12 Ipswich-bound carriageway at Ardleigh following a two-car crash.

Emergency services were called at 3.47pm and the road was shut shortly afterwards causing long tailbacks as traffic was diverted through Dedham.

No-one was badly injured in the accident which involved two cars.