M25 crash leaves 8-mile queues between J24 and J25
A multi-vehicle crash on the m25 clockwise between junction 24 at Potters Bar and junction 25 at Waltham Cross left one of four lanes closed and brought traffic to a standstill. National Highways East said the incident produced 52 minutes of delays and 8 miles of congestion on the approach.
Emergency services worked at the scene while the closure remained in place. The motorway later reopened in full, but drivers still faced 30 minutes of delays and 3 miles of congestion.
Potters Bar and Waltham Cross
National Highways East said, "The M25 clockwise between J24 (PottersBar) and J25 (WalthamCross) has 1 (of 4) lane closed due to a multi vehicle collision. Emergency services continue to work at the scene. There are delays of 52 minutes and 8 miles of congestion on the approach." The update identified the affected stretch as the clockwise side of the M25 between Potters Bar and Waltham Cross.
Motorway camera footage showed traffic at a complete standstill during the incident. That matched the lane restriction on a route described in the source as the UK's busiest motorway, where a single closure was enough to hold vehicles for miles.
All lanes reopened
National Highways later said, "On the #M25 clockwise between J24 (#PottersBar) and J25 (#WalthamCross) all lanes have reopened following a multi vehicle collision. There are residual delays of 30 minutes and 3 miles of congestion on the approach." The reopening removed the lane closure, but the queue did not clear at once.
Drivers using that stretch still had to move through the remaining delay and congestion after the lanes reopened. For anyone approaching from J24 toward J25, the clearest change was that the road was moving again, even if the backlog had not fully unwound.
National Highways East
The incident moved from lane closure to reopening in the same stretch, and the difference for drivers was immediate: a blocked lane became open, but traffic remained slow because of the earlier queue. That is the practical reading of the update from National Highways East and the later statement from National Highways.
