Two lanes on the M25 near Leatherhead (anti-clockwise) were closed Monday afternoon (July 15) as fire crews battled a lorry fire on the busy motorway.
Three fire engines from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were rushed to tackle the blaze, while increasingly long delays were reported by transport authorities in the area.
Lorry fire on hardshoulder, Lane 1 and 2 closed. #M25 J9 #Leatherhead to J8 #Reigate. #Fire brigade and #trafficofficers towards to assist. Please proceed with caution.
— Highways England (@HighwaysSEAST) July 15, 2019
Announcing the fire on Twitter, Highways England said:
"Lorry fire on hard shoulder, Lanes 1 and 2 closed. #M25 J9 #Leatherhead to J8 #Reigate.
"Fire brigade and traffic officers towards to assist. Please proceed with caution."
Meanwhile, multiple fire crews were sent to tackle the fire, and were continuing to fight the blaze around 5.20pm on Monday.
Responding to a request for comment from the Comet, a spokesperson for SFRS said:
"We received a call this afternoon around 16.25pm to a report of a fire on the M25 between Junctions 9 and 8.
"Three fire engines were sent alongside some specialist vehicles. A vehicle had caught fire.
"The units are still at the scene tackling the fire."
In a later update, a spokesperson for Highways England warned of long delays in the area of motorway near to the fire itself.
"Delays are building on approach to this incident. Please add an extra 25 minutes on to your journey time if heading #M25 anti-clockwise. We'll keep you posted," Highways England said.
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