A JACK-KNIFED lorry has caused massive delays for commuters on the M25 this afternoon.

The large goods vehicle shed its load of boxes of peat between junctions four and five of the clockwise carriageway.

The incident occurred just after 1.25pm and resulted in the hard shoulder being opened to allow for traffic.

Lane one has also now been opened but lanes two and three of the clockwise carriageway remain closed, as does lane three of the anti-clockwise carriageway.

The lorry hit the central reservation and grab lorries are currently clearing the spilt load.

A Highways Agency spokesman said that matters had not been helped by onlookers on both carriageways.

The anti-clockwise queue is said to have been tailing back to junction nine while reports suggest that the Dartford Crossing is now being affected by the clockwise carriageway traffic.

Delays of two hours are expected.

A spokesman for the Agency said: "We are working as hard as we can to clear the carriageway and to restore maximum capacity."