A woman has been arrested after drivers faced over an hour and a half of delays as a major road closed today due to climate protests.

Five demonstrators scaled gantries which support overhead motorway signs in three places on the M25 in response to extreme temperatures in the UK, causing police to close sections of the road.

Essex Police announced the M25 had been closed in Thurrock this morning between junction 30 (A13) and junction 31 as protesters climbed a sign in Dartford between the Queen Elizabeth Bridge northbound and junction 30.

A spokesman for the force said on Twitter: "The M25 in Thurrock between J30 and J31 has been closed while we respond to reports of people on the gantry above the road.

Read more >>> M25 closed in south Essex as demonstrators climb sign in climate protest

"We're working to resolve the incident as quickly and safely as possible but please avoid the area.

"We appreciate your patience and understanding."

 

All lanes have now reopened between junction 30 (A13) and junction 31 (A282) following the incident.

A woman has now been arrested after officers worked to resolve the situation "as quickly and as safely as possible".

This required specialist resources and police worked to put a diversion in place to release traffic.

Essex Police Chief Inspector Anna Granger said: “I want to thank the public for their patience and understanding while we dealt with this incident.

“We are well prepared for incidents of disruption on our roads and to keep Essex moving, and we enacted these quickly.

“This was a challenging incident to resolve due to its nature but we resolved it as quickly and safely as possible.”

Very long delays back to almost J27 (M11) remain as well as delays on the A13 Londonbound between Stifford and the M25.

Routes around Lakeside, Grays and Purfleet remain heavily congested.

During the closure motorists faced over an hour and a half of delays, Highways England said.

 

The environmental protest group has said more protests are planned between until Friday.

A spokesman for Just Stop Oil said: "The main thing is, we've just seen 40 degree temperatures, which have been predicted for decades, maybe it's happening a bit faster. But it has just revealed how inadequate the Government's preparations for climate change are and their entire policy, and basically we're just saying it's evident now we cannot continue.

"As we're going on, we need to stop new oil. It's the first step to ensuring we have a liveable future, and maybe it's already too late.

"This is something we definitely need to do."