Lifting equipment was bought in yesterday evening November 4, to remove a lorry, which had overturned on the northbound section of the A3 at the intersection of New Malden.

Police were called to the incident at approximately 1.55pm and the underpass at New Malden was subsequently closed as a large quantity of fuel was spilt onto the carriageway.

This resulted in huge congestion over several hours as drivers, struggling to deal with the Friday rush hour, attempted to find alternative routes and caused gridlock for miles around.

There were no reports of any other vehicles having been involved and no-one was reported to have been hurt in the incident.

Enquiries into what caused the collision are continuing.