A lorry shed its load of cooking oil onto the M25 near Potters Bar, forcing the motorway to close.

The driver of the lorry crashed into the central reservation on the London Orbital motorway at around 11.15am today (Tuesday, April 19).

Barrels of cooking oil fell onto the road, and the Metropolitan Police shut the M25 between junction 23 (A1, South Mimms) and junction 25 (A10, Enfield) to make the site safe.

%image(15460089, type="article-full", alt="A lorry shed its load of barrels on the M25 near Potters Bar and Cheshunt today (Tuesday, April 19)")

%image(15460091, type="article-full", alt="Some drivers were stuck on the M25 for between four and six hours. Police worked to turn traffic around throughout the afternoon")

Some motorists were trapped for between four and six hours while police worked to turn motorists around or release traffic.

The road remains closed into the evening.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "Officers were called at about 11.15am to the M25, just between junction 24 and 25.

"A lorry was reported to have been in collision with the central reservation and spilt cooking oil over the road."

Motorists were asked to avoid the area.

There were previously delays of around 120 minutes on the M25 between the M1 at Watford and the A1(M).

There were also long delays on alternative routes, including the A414 at London Colney, Hatfield and Hertingfordbury, and on the A406 North Circular in London.

%image(15460094, type="article-full", alt="Queues on the A406 North Circular in London at 4.16pm - part of the "hollow triangle" diversion around the M25 closure")

%image(15460096, type="article-full", alt="The M25 clockwise at around 1.51pm today, with queues back to the M1 junction at Watford")

A National Highways spokesperson said: "Traffic Officers and contractors remain on scene and are working to clear a large spillage of cooking oil from the carriageway.

"The road is likely to remain closed throughout the night due to the complex nature of the clean-up."

The spokesperson added that motorists should follow the "hollow triangle" diversion.

Eastbound traffic on the M25 should leave the motorway onto the A1 southbound to join the A406 eastbound at Henlys Corner, near Golders Green.

Motorists can then follow the A406 to Tottenham and return to the M25 using the A10 through Edmonton.

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