Fire engines rushed to put out blaze as tunnel closure brings heavy delays

Highways England reported that the West entrance to the tunnel had been closed while emergency services attended to a vehicle fire near the entrance believed to have been caused by an electrical or engine fault.

Kent Fire and Rescue said that they had dispatched three fire engines to put out the fire after a vehicle on the approach to the West tunnel was found to be "well alight".

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "(We) responded to a car fire on approach to the Dartford Tunnel. Three fire engines were sent to the scene, where one car was found to be well alight on the Essex bound carriageway between junction 1a of the M25 and the A282.

"Crews used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire, which is believed to have been an electrical / engine fault.

"There were no reported injuries."

Highways England said on Twitter they had since worked to move the vehicle, which had been obstructing the entrance to the tunnel, but that the route would only re-open once the debris from the fire had been cleared from the road.

Around 3.50pm, Highways England said: "The West Tunnel is still currently closed due to the damage the vehicle fire has caused to the road surface. Engineers are en route to assess the scene."

By 4pm, they said that the West tunnel would remain closed while engineers worked to make the area affected by the fire serviceable again.

Highways England said: "J1A Exit slip on the anti-clockwise will remain closed until further notice due to West Tunnel Closure."