A two-vehicle crash on the Rayleigh track of the A127 caused peak-time tailbacks on the A127 heading towards London.

The collision, which is not believed to be serious, happened close to the St. Michael's Road junction, holding up traffic heading eastbound, just before Rayleigh Weir.

Drivers have said they were caught in tailbacks for about up to forty minutes.

The delays also had a knock on effect in Eastwood and Rayleigh, with queuing traffic on the A1015 Eastwood Road.

Jenny Lake, 25, from Chalkwell, said she was stuck for a long while.

She said: "It took me two hours to drive from Chalkwell to Basildon and I missed my morning meeting.

"The A127 just grinds to a standstill when there's a crash on it."

Commuter Chloe Taylor, who was held up for 10 minutes, said: “It looked like three cars had gone into the back of each other, and the middle one in particular was pretty badly smashed in.

"I could see one of the drivers standing on the grass verge with police, and he looked pretty shaken up.

“The A127 is a nightmare at that time of the morning anyway, so as soon as there is a crash like this it just causes absolute chaos.”

Essex Police would not provide any more details, claiming it was not serious enough.