Teen stuck on M25 for eight hours on first drive

Image source, Supplied Image caption, Beatrix said one of her arms was burned from sitting in the sun for so long By Henry Godfrey-Evans Essex Published 18 July 2026, 06:35 BST Updated 4 hours ago A teenager who was driving for the first time after passing her test ended up stuck on the M25 for eight hours. A crash near Lakeside Shopping Centre in Grays, Essex, at 05:30 BST on Thursday caused huge delays , with the road not reopening until 20:40 due to multiple complications. National Highways said about a quarter of a mile (400m) of road needed resurfacing after an oil spill, and cooling was slowed down by the hot weather. For Beatrix, a 20-minute journey with her relative ended up being a long wait in gridlock, but despite the pressure she said her driving instructor would have been impressed with her performance. The 17-year-old, from Romford, east London, said: "It was me and my cousin in the car and both of our phones died. So, we didn't really know how to get back and we were following road signs. "I've never driven on the M25... so, that was very scary." Image source, Ed Keiller Image caption, Drivers faced long delays across Grays, Purfleet and the wider Thurrock area Temperatures in Grays peaked at 29C (84.2F) on Thursday. Beatrix said: "Everyone was just so thirsty because it was so hot, and then no-one had any water or food or anything in the cars." She said her parents were "so worried" as they did not have her location and had no idea how late she would get back. 'No water, no toilets, no food' Image source, Supplied Image caption, A 60-minute journey became nine hours for Rosie Potter Lakeside to Colchester usually takes less than an hour in the car, but for Rosie Potter it was more than nine hours. The 29-year-old civil servant left the retail car park at 13:30 and staggered through her front door at 23:00. She recalled getting emotional and "a bit rattled" as the evening approached. "I thought, 'Oh no, am I gonna be stuck in my car overnight in the dark in an area that I don't really know very well?' "You can't sit there for eight, nine hours with your engine running and your aircon running. "There's no water. There's no access to any toilets. There's no food. There's nothing. There's nothing around. "There were people with babies that had literally nipped out to the shops and were then stranded for hours and had no milk, no bottles left for their children." 'Kids playing tennis' Many took refuge in the Thurrock service station car park, but were then unable to get back out. Sara Tidy said there were "literally hundreds of cars" and "kids playing tennis" to keep them entertained. The 63-year-old journalist had left Stansted Airport and was returning to her home in Benenden, Kent. She spoke to a band who were about to miss their first gig outside of Norwich. "They had their drums and guitars and stuff on the tarmac to entertain themselves," she said. "There was a lady who was in need of her medication, she was getting quite panicky