The A12 at Copdock has reopened after a lorry containing 11 tonnes of scrap metal caught fire today - closing the road for more than 10 hours.

The brigade rushed to the scene of the blaze on the A12 northbound between the London Road junction and the Copdock interchange, leading onto the A14, just before 6.30am today.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the lorry trailer contained 11 tonnes of scrap metal, and may have also been transporting a “tractor unit”.

At one point fire crews seemed to have got the fire under control but the flames started up again.

They eventually extinguished the blaze by removing the heavy scrap metal from the lorry as they sprayed it down with hoses.

The fire was eventually out by 1.33pm.

Five crews, two from Ipswich Princes Street and one each from Ipswich East, Bury St Edmunds and Leiston, attended the scene.

After the fore was out, the scrap metal had to be reloaded onto the lorry, which had not been damaged in the fire, and taken away.

A police spokesman said the road has now completely reopened.

The road closure caused long delays in the area, with a diversion in place through Copdock village and Washbrook.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Ipswich Star: A lorry carrying scrap metal caught fire on the A12 northbound at the Copdock interchange on May 6, 2017. Picture: MARTINE SILKSTONEA lorry carrying scrap metal caught fire on the A12 northbound at the Copdock interchange on May 6, 2017. Picture: MARTINE SILKSTONE (Image: Archant)