M25 lorry fire shut motorway near Westerham from 5.15pm

A lorry fire closed the M25 for hours on Monday evening, shutting the anticlockwise carriageway between junction 5 at Sevenoaks and junction 6 at Godstone and leaving miles of queues past Clacket Lane services. Kent Fire and Rescue Service was called at 4.06pm on Monday 10 August, and no injuries were reported. (Kent Fire and Rescue Service, lorry fire, M25, Sevenoaks)

At the height of the incident four fire engines and a bulk water carrier were at the scene. Crews wearing breathing apparatus worked to unload the lorry’s contents and put the fire out using main jets, before the response was scaled back to a single fire engine and the water carrier. (Kent Fire and Rescue Service, lorry fire, M25, Sevenoaks)

The motorway was shut for the evening rush

Kent Online reported that the fire broke out just after 4pm and that the carriageway was fully closed at 5.15pm because of the severity of the blaze, with traffic trapped behind the closure released past the scene. Citing National Highways, it reported delays of more than an hour and around six miles of congestion, and that as of Monday evening National Highways could give no estimate of when the carriageway would reopen. (Kent Online, long delays on M25 in Westerham due to lorry fire)

That stretch of the M25 is the district’s western escape route: junction 5 is where the A21 from Sevenoaks and the M26 feed onto the motorway, and the closed section runs past Westerham and the Clacket Lane services on the way towards Godstone and Gatwick. A closure there in the evening peak sends diverted traffic onto the A25 through Westerham, Brasted and Sundridge.

What it means for you

The fire itself was dealt with on Monday and the fire service’s incident page records it as scaled down, but burnt-out lorries leave debris and surface damage, so if you are heading anticlockwise towards Gatwick or Heathrow it is worth checking National Highways’ live traffic map before you set off. (Kent Fire and Rescue Service, lorry fire, M25, Sevenoaks)

It caps an awkward week for getting out of the district: Charing Cross and Waterloo East stay shut through Sunday 16 August, with Sevenoaks trains terminating at London Bridge until normal service resumes on Monday 17 August, as we covered in our report on the August rail works, and the rest of the district’s road disruption is tracked in our roadworks and travel update.

Sources

• Kent Fire and Rescue Service, lorry fire, M25, Sevenoaks, 10 August 2026
• Kent Online, long delays on M25 in Westerham due to lorry fire, 10 August 2026
• National Highways, travel updates

Image: The M25 near Clacket Lane services by Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph.