Dramatic pictures have emerged of a lorry engulfed by flames on the M25.

The incident last night led to the clockwise stretch of the motoway, near the junction for Waltham Abbey, being closed until 9am this morning as emergency repairs were carried out to damage to the road surface caused by the intense heat.

The lorry was carrying paint and tyres and the blaze took two hours for six fire crews to extinguish.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two main jets, two hose reel jets and 80 litres of foam to put it out.


 
The driver managed to pull over to the hard shoulder and leave the vehicle before the flames took hold.

He did not require medical treatment and there were no reports of any other injuries.

The images were filmed by Teresa Cairns, 50, of Upshirebury Green in Waltham Abbey,

She said: “The lorry had been unhitched from the trailer and there appeared to be no other vehicles involved. It was burning for at least 2 hours.

“The initial bangs were very loud, then when we looked all we could see from our house was thick black smoke coming from motorway 400m away, so we went to the bridge to see.”