M25 five-mile closure: drivers warned to steer clear over weekend | Road transport

Drivers have been warned to steer well clear, turn off the satnav and stick to the official diversions as some of the biggest roadworks since the Romans results in part of the M25 motorway fully closed for the first time in its history this weekend.

Epic traffic jams are anticipated, with a five-mile stretch of Britain’s busiest motorway, the London orbital motorway, closed for engineering from 9pm on Friday.

This weekend marks the first ever planned daytime closure of the M25, in what could prove a gruelling 57-hour outage for motorists in south-west London and Surrey.

The M25 will be…