Lincolnshire road reopens after two lorries crash

The collision happened at the junction with the A151 near Colsterworth

A section of the A1 in Lincolnshire has reopened after repairs following a crash involving two lorries.

It happened at the A151 junction at Colsterworth at 06:45 GMT on Monday.

The northbound carriageway reopened to traffic at 18:00 but the southbound only reopened on Tuesday morning after repair work.

The southbound section between the A607 at Harlaxton and the A606 at Stamford needed fully resurfacing, National Highways said.

Lincolnshire Police said "no serious injuries" were reported in the crash.

The A1 was closed in both directions and delays were expected, highways officials said

Stuart Simpson, 54, an HGV driver, was one of those impacted by the crash.

He said it had taken about two hours extra to travel to Colsterworth to deliver fuel from his base in Immingham in North East Lincolnshire.

"I thought about turning back, but we have to get the fuel here and get the job done," he said.

Mr Simpson said the A1 was normally an "alright" road that runs "really well".

"But obviously an accident like this stops everything," he said.

"It's a main trunk road so once there's a hold up that's it I'm afraid."

He said, in his experience, excessive speed was one of the main contributing factors to accidents on the A1, but added that in this case he did not know what had happened.

At the scene: Harry Parkhill, BBC News

Recovery work is taking place, with the contents of the overturned lorry being removed

It's a scene of devastation, with one lorry on its side blocking both carriageways.

There is debris all over the road and the cab of the toppled lorry is badly damaged, with its cargo strewn across the road.

With all four carriages of the A1 closed (now partially reopened), it's been a nightmare for drivers, some of whom have had hours added to their journey times.

Locals tell me this sort of crash happens all the time.

One woman, who lives in nearby Colsterworth, said there had been a fatality nearby just a few weeks ago.

She said the latest incident had left the village gridlocked with cars trying to avoid a lengthy diversion to get to their destinations.

Others have pulled over at the side of the road and asked me for directions, and seemed dismayed at the size of the detour on offer.

Lincolnshire Police said nobody was seriously injured in the crash

There have been calls for the road to be upgraded to a motorway, with supporters claiming it would reduce the number of accidents.

There have been almost 1,000 crashes on the A1 between Peterborough and Blyth since 2015, according to transport research group Midlands Connect.

The organisation said 36 of the incidents were fatal.