M25 chaos: Major accident sparks five miles of traffic as emergency services rush to busy motorway

A vehicle collision has forced the closure of three lanes on the four-lane carriageway to the west of London.

National Highways reported that the incident occurred just after 7am this morning, where vehicles were initially stopped.

Traffic officers from National Highways attended the scene to manage the flow of congestion while awaiting emergency services to arrive at the scene.

Motorists on the M25 are currently dealing with delays of 90 minutes above usual journey times, with congestion stretching approximately five miles.

The transport organisation warned drivers that they may want to allow extra journey time if the M25 is critical to their planned route.

It added: "By 8.19am, ambulance and fire crews arrived and lanes 1, 2 and 3 (of 4) are now closed to allow them to work safely.

"Emergency teams are currently treating one injured person at the scene, and recovery has been arranged for the vehicles involved.

"Further updates will be provided as the situation develops and recovery operations progress."

The accident between J17 and J16 has been caused further issues on surrounding junctions and roads as motorists deal with rush hour traffic.

Maps show slow-moving traffic between J16 and J15 near Heathrow Airport, with further gridlock on the A40 heading towards London.

Normal traffic conditions near the scene of the accident are not expected to return until around 11.15am, although this could still change.

GB News has contacted the emergency services for a comment.

The latest update from National Highways confirmed that recovery was underway, with hopes of lanes reopening soon.

It added: "However, 3 lanes remain closed on the M25 anti-clockwise between J17 and J16 following a collision. There are delays of at least 90 minutes above usual journey times."