MOTORISTS faced heavy tailbacks today after a car overturned on the A12 in the early hours of the morning.The London-bound A12 was closed following the crash which involved a serving soldier and happened at 4.

MOTORISTS faced heavy tailbacks today after a car overturned on the A12 in the early hours of the morning.

The London-bound A12 was closed following the crash which involved a serving soldier and happened at 4.27am near Marks Tey.

Police said the soldier was in a serious condition but his injuries were not life threatening.

Motorists heading to the capital from Suffolk were warned not to go near the crash and were advised to take the A14 and M11 instead.

The accident, which involved one vehicle only, happened under the A120 bridge, near junction 25, the Marks Tey interchange and the junction with the A120 Colchester West.

Traffic was queueing for about 40 minutes and the accident caused congestion up to junction 26 for the A1124, Essex Yeomanry Way at the Eight Ash Green/Tollgate interchange.

The road was expected to reopen by around 8.30am, officers from Stanway Road Policing Unit said.

Any traffic that did reach the tailbacks was diverted around the roundabout and back on to the A12.

Two fire crews from Colchester, one from Coggleshall and one from Witham were called to the accident.

They used specialist cutting equipment to free the man from his overturned vehicle.

The fire service said the incident was dealt with by 5am.

A police spokesman said: “The accident involved a serving soldier from Colchester. He is still in a serious condition.”

Police were still at the scene at 8am.

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