The M40 has been closed after a lorry smashed into a van and two cars before careering off the road sparking half term travel chaos.
Roads officials warned drivers of ‘long delays’ stretching into the night as workers rush to repair emergency barriers that were damaged in the pile-up.
Police stopped traffic for hours this afternoon while clearing the scene with diversions put in place via exit and entry slip roads between J1A and J2 at Beaconsfield.
It comes as thousands of drivers take to the roads for the half-term getaway with children given their annual October week off classes.
Roads officials warned drivers of ‘long delays’ stretching into the night as workers rush to repair emergency barriers that were damaged in the pile-up
Police stopped traffic for hours this afternoon while clearing the scene with diversions put in place via exit and entry slip roads
Highways England said on Twitter: ‘We’re trying to release vehicles trapped within the closure between J16 and J17.
‘With J2 open, one lane will remain closed for safety until emergency barrier repairs can be done overnight. Long delays from J1.
‘Traffic stuck in closure of J16-J17 is being released- some past the scene, some by being turned to J16 – this will take time to do safely.’
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said that nobody was trapped in the four-vehicle pile-up.
But it is not only chaos on the roads that half-term holidaymakers need to worry about – with Storm Brian set to lash Britain tonight.
Steel barricades are being erected on the coast today before the 70mph winds and more than two inches of rain sweep in.
A ‘weather bomb’ is caused when the central pressure in an area of low pressure fell rapidly over the Atlantic
Defensive barriers have been put up in the Cornish town of Fowey by the Environment Agency ahead of Storm Brian
The wild conditions, caused by a ‘weather bomb’ over the Atlantic Ocean, are expected to cause widespread travel chaos with the worst weather forecast across southern and western England and West Wales tomorrow.
Defensive barriers have been put up in the Cornish town of Fowey – where Dawn French owns a £5million clifftop mansion – by the Environment Agency on roads most likely to be swamped as Storm Brian arrives.
Workers have been boosting flood defences in the Cornish town of Fowey ahead of expected high tides this weekend
Operations manager Mr Miller from the Environment Agency lays sandbags at the flood defence barricade in Fowey today
Dave Miller, Michael Davis and Kieth Powell from the Environment Agency lay sandbags at a barrier in Fowey, Cornwall, today
The barricades have previously been used to protect cities against rivers bursting their banks, but this is the first time they have been used on the Cornish coast – and they are already blocking water from reaching the land.
Forecasters have also warned of flooding to homes, power cuts and delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport.