M25 Traffic blocked both ways after lorry fire at J27 and J26

m25 traffic was blocked both ways tonight between J27 Epping and J26 Waltham Abbey after a lorry fire shut the motorway in Essex. Fire crews were called to the scene, and National Highways said updates would follow.

National Highways said disruption was expected to last until the morning peak travel period because of the intensity of the blaze. Traffic cameras showed the lorry apparently destroyed, with emergency services on scene and queues building back to junction 30.

J27 Epping and J26 Waltham Abbey

The closure covered both directions between J27 and J26, and National Highways said the M25 had been blocked both ways there due to a lorry fire. Essex Police and National Highways Traffic Officers were at the scene helping manage traffic.

That stretch also sat alongside a separate vehicle fire on neighbouring junctions. National Highways said there were two separate vehicle fires on the M25, and the road in Essex was closed anti-clockwise between J28 and J27 because of another vehicle fire.

Queues near Brentwood

Long queues formed at junction 28 after the lorry fire, and traffic cameras showed heavy congestion around junction 27 and junction 28 as two vehicles were alight. The closure effectively shut the M25 from J28 to J26.

For drivers already on the road, the practical change was immediate: the usual route through that section of the M25 was unavailable, with traffic held back well beyond the incident site. The next pressure point is the morning peak, when National Highways expected the disruption to still be affecting journeys.