TOTAL gridlock.That was the experience of road users travelling in and out of Ipswich today after an articulated lorry overturned on the A12 at Stratford St Mary, close to the Essex border.

By Nick Richards

TOTAL gridlock.

That was the experience of road users travelling in and out of Ipswich today after an articulated lorry overturned on the A12 at Stratford St Mary, close to the Essex border.

Police at the scene said the lorry driver was taken to Colchester General Hospital with minor injuries. It is believed he was travelling from Felixstowe towards the Newmarket area.

The accident resulted in the road being blocked for several hours as emergency services diverted traffic from the area. Their problems were added to by heavy rain on the road.

No other vehicle was believed to be involved in the accident, which occurred near to the junction of the B1029 Dedham Road at 6.30am.

An eyewitness said that the Scania lorry hit the concrete side reservation before doing a complete 360-degree U-turn. It demolished the central reservation and came to rest in the opposite direction from which it was heading.

The accident resulted in the closure of the southbound lane of the A12 with traffic heading in that direction being turned around and heading back towards Ipswich on the northbound lane.

Village roads around the Dedham/Manningtree area were at a total stand still with traffic blocked back towards Colchester. Side roads linking the A12 were also closed to stop traffic joining the main road.

Shirley Saunders, of Macaulay Road, Ipswich, was travelling in a coach operated by Supreme Holidays which was caught up in the mayhem and came to rest just four cars behind the lorry.

She said: "We were heading for a shopping day-trip to France and Belgium to stock up on a few goodies. We set out at 6.10am this morning from Ipswich bus station. There are about 20 people on the coach at the moment and normally at 8.30am we would be well on our way to Dover."

It was not known how long it would take for the road to be cleared and re-opened.