The A2 is reopening after long delays caused by a milk lorry fire.

Drivers heading coastbound were brought to a standstill following the blaze on the carriageway between the M25/A282 near Dartford and the B255 past Bluewater.

Traffic was held on both sides of the A2 at around 7.45am while firefighters used hose reel jets to extinguish the fire.

All vehicles behind held on the London-bound carriageway were released shortly after 9am but a closure remained in place for coastbound traffic.

One driver caught up in the chaos reported seeing “thick black plumes of smoke overhead”.

He said: “Two fire engines have just gone racing past on the hard shoulder.”

There was also an “extensive” diesel oil spillage which is suspected to have caused damage to the road surface.

Recovery remained ongoing at the scene and once complete the road surface was assessed for potential resurfacing.

National Highways said recovery of the vehicle was also likely to be protracted so the closure was “likely to be in place for some time”.

There was approximately 1.5 miles of congestion on approach to the closure with 50-minute delays above normal travel times.

Earlier this morning drivers voiced their frustrations after facing waits of more than four hours.

“Been stationary for two and a half hours now,” voiced one person on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Please can we have a plan or time scale? It’s also snowing heavily. Not sure what to plan as regards work please.”

Another added: “What’s the latest, been over 2 hours and we have a baby in the car? How long to clean the diesel and clear the lorry?”

Those towards the rear of the traffic were eventually escorted back to junction two at the Darenth interchange by highways officers.

National Highways posted an update at around 1.40pm, which read: “The A2 east remains closed between the M25 & B255 Darenth following a vehicle fire.

“Recovery is ongoing at scene and once complete the road surface will be assessed for damage and potential resurfacing.”

But at just before 5.30pm there was good news. National Highways said in an update: “A specialist engineer has advised the road can reopen and our resources will begin removing the closure imminently.

“We are currently reporting delays on approach of 60 minutes above usual journey times.”

A further statement added: “Recovery of the lorry is now complete. As a result of the collision, a diesel spillage also occurred which has since been cleaned by National Highways specialist resources.

“We currently anticipate all closures will be removed before 7pm.”