THOUSANDS of commuters and lorry drivers were held up after a six vehicle pile-up on the A14 near the Orwell Bridge.

THOUSANDS of commuters and lorry drivers were held up in and around Ipswich after a six-vehicle pile-up on the A14 near the Orwell Bridge.

The accident happened on the westbound carriageway, close to the Shell service station, at about 5.20pm on Thursday evening.

There were traffic tailbacks of up to two miles, back to Seven Hills, as one lane of the carriageway was closed while the vehicles were being recovered. The lane reopened at 6.30pm.

There were no reported injuries but traffic problems extended into Ipswich town centre as drivers tried to find alternative routes - causing major traffic problems for people heading home in all directions.

The traffic problems remained in and around the town until mid evening, when the A14 was cleared.