Blackwall Tunnel closed: CCTV shows 'innocuous' moment that brought parts of London to a standstill

This is the seemingly innocuous incident that brought traffic to a standstill across a swathe of London today.

The CCTV footage from inside the Blackwall Tunnel shows a crane lorry as it leaks hydraulic fluid onto the road just before 7am.

While it appears to have little immediate impact on vehicles following the truck, the spillage forced the closure of the tunnel on safety grounds and led to hours of misery for motorists.

The tunnel remains shut more than 15 hours later as contractors work to resurface the road before it can reopen.

Transport for London tweeted shortly before 10pm that there was "no timeframe" for when the tunnel will reopen.

Earlier, tailbacks stretched to 10 miles and drivers were stranded in traffic for hours as a result of the leak.

Garrett Emmerson, TfL’s chief operating officer, surface transport, said: “We apologise to drivers and bus passengers who have been affected by today’s closure of the northbound Blackwall Tunnel and we are working hard to resurface the road as quickly as possible."