ON the first day that drivers were finally able to get back to normal after completion of inspections of the Orwell Bridge the A14 had to be closed.Motorists who have faced weeks of frustration and tailbacks while the bridge inspection was carried out faced yet more delays after a fire in a layby near Nacton forced the closure of the road.

ON the first day that drivers were finally able to get back to normal after completion of inspections of the Orwell Bridge the A14 had to be closed.

Motorists who have faced weeks of frustration and tailbacks while the bridge inspection was carried out faced yet more delays after a fire in a layby near Nacton forced the closure of the road.

A caravan and the car towing it were parked in a layby near the Orwell Bridge when the caravan caught fire at 3.25pm yesterday.

Two crews of fire-fighters who attended discovered there were two LPG cylinders inside and ordered the immediate closure of the A14 as a safety precaution.

Police who had been sent to the scene to assist the fire crews closed the road in both directions.

The fire had been dealt with and the LPG cylinders cooled by 4pm, and the Felixstowe-bound carriageway was reopened, while one lane toward Bury St Edmunds remained closed for recovery of the caravan.

Although the road was quickly reopened, the closure marked yet more annoyance for drivers who had thought their journeys were returning to normal.

Some drivers reported jams in the centre of Ipswich as a result of the A14 closure, but a Suffolk Police spokesman said there had been no reports of major problems in Ipswich.

It is not believed anybody was hurt in the incident and the cause of the fire is not yet known.

Speed restrictions and lane closures were in place on the Orwell Bridge for six weeks while engineers carried out inspections on the structure. It reopened fully on Thursday .