Thousands stuck for hours in fuel spill chaos

Thousands of motorists were caught in jams caused by a huge diesel spillage that shut the Blackwall Tunnel.

Maintenance crews worked through the night to clear the fuel slick, which stretched for a mile and a half along the northbound approach road, and reopened the tunnel just before 7am.

Transport for London was today still calculating the long-term damage to the road, having already resurfaced large parts of the carriageway overnight.

The closure caused huge traffic jams last night, many roads in south-east London were paralysed, adding up to four hours to thousands of commuters' journeys. Travel data firm Trafficlink said it was the worst blockage south of the river "for years".

Many arterial roads were bumpertobumper as commuters battled to find alternative routes to avoid the six-mile tailbacks. Blackheath, Greenwich and Lewisham were brought to a standstill.

The knock-on effect clogged up almost every main crossing point, including the Dartford Crossing, Woolwich Ferry and Tower Bridge.

One driver, Sarah Dempsey, 35, was close to tears as she bottle-fed her seven-month-old son in a layby on the A2.

She said: "I'm travelling to Wood Green and have been on the road since 4.30pm, it's now almost 7.30pm. I just feel like crying and my baby's crying so I had to pull over."

Motorists were furious because the two southbound lanes remained open, instead of one being used as a northbound contraflow.

TfL investigators are examining the origins of the spillage, which was caused by an unknown vehicle in the early hours of yesterday.