A man has been brought to safety after the Dartford Crossing was forced to close for more than four hours.

Drivers were stuck in huge delays on the approach to the Dartford Bridge from 6am.

Police closed the crossing southbound on the Essex side after receiving reports of a man on the road.

Queues tailed back for miles until around 10.30am when the bridge reopened.

A police spokesperson said: “The Dartford River Crossing is now open following an incident reported to us at 6am.

“We were called to concerns for the welfare of a man on the crossing.

“Traffic was held while officers worked at the scene.

“The man is now safe and being cared for by healthcare professionals.

“The crossing was fully re-opened at 10.30am. We thank you for your patience this morning.”

At one point, congestion stretched back to J29 A127 Romford, with A13 queues back to Wennington and Orsett, and through Purfleet, Thurrock and Grays.

On the Kent side, the tailbacks stretched as far as J3 on the M20 for the Swanley Interchange, and on the A2 back past Gravesend to the M2 at J1 for Strood.

At around 10.30am National Highways tweeted an update to the traffic.

It said: “The A282 QEII Bridge south-bound at Dartford Crossing is now open.

“Severe delays remain in both directions approaching the crossing.”

RNLI Gravesend was also called by police to assist in the incident.

A spokesperson said: “We were requested to launch by HM Coastguard at 6:15am this morning to assist Essex Police in the Dartford Bridge area, the lifeboat currently remains on scene.”

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