M25 delays: Just Stop Oil protesters climb Dartford Crossing QEII bridge forcing closure

Motorists are stuck in eight miles of traffic with delays of up to two hours

Just Stop Oil protesters have climbed to the top of Queen Elizabeth II bridge, forcing police to close it.

The QEII bridge at Dartford has been closed since around 4am after two people climbed up it, causing delays during Monday morning rush hour.

At 7.30am, the environmental activist group issued a statement confirming they were behind the closure of the QEII bridge, with two of their supporters climbing to the top.

One of the protesters climbing the QEII bridge in the early hours of this morning (Just Stop Oil)

They said the bridge is expected to stay shut for “at least 24 hours” as they continue ongoing protests.

Traffic travelling southbound on the M25/A282 is being diverted via the East Bore Tunnel.

Northbound traffic is being confined to the West Bore Tunnel only with a height restriction of 4’8m (15’9”).

National Highways has warned commuters that there will be long delays of two hours on both the clockwise and anti-clockwise carriageway with around seven to eight miles of congestion.

One of the protesters at the top of the bridge (Just Stop Oil)

There are also delays on approaching roads to the M25, as well as 30-minute delays on the A13 near Thurrock and 50-minute delays on the A2 near Darenth.

By 6am on Monday, police said there were delays of around 60 minutes.

National Highways East wrote on Twitter at 5am that there were “60 minute delays with 3 miles of congestion on the approach”.

Motorists are experiencing up to 8 miles of congestion (National Highways)

The A282 Dartford Cross is currently the only way to cross the Thames east of London by road.

In a press release issued by the group, the protesters were named as Morgan Trowland and Marcus.

Mr Trowland, 39, a bridge design engineer from London has said he will remain on the bridge until the government “stops all new oil”.

It is the 17th day of action by the group of continuous disruption, with supporters demanding that the government halts all new oil and gas licenses and consents.

The over two weeks of action have led to over 450 arrests – 14 individuals were arrested on Sunday as they blocked Park Lane, London, and sprayed an Aston Martin dealership with orange paint.

Protester glued themselves to the Tarmac outside the Aston Martin store on Sunday (Getty Images)

In a statement Essex Police said: “Officers are currently working to resolve a situation which has caused us to close the QEII Bridge at the Dartford Crossing.

“We received a report shortly before 3.50am today (Monday 17 October) that two people had climbed onto the bridge and are currently at height.

“The bridge has been closed while we resolve the incident which we will do as quickly and as safely for all involved.

“It does mean that we have had to close the bridge to traffic, but a diversion is going to be put in place through the tunnel.

“This is likely to cause delays throughout this morning and this incident may take some time to resolve due to the complexities of safely getting people down from height.

“Please plan your journey. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

“We’ll provide more updates when we’re able to.”