There were long delays following the crash

Traffic was brought to a halt on a busy motorway after a lorry full of beans shed its load over the road.

The driver of the lorry was trying to avoid a car that had crashed when the accident happened, leaving crates and tins scattered across all three lanes.

An Essex Police spokesman said there were long delays on the southbound carriageway of the M11 after the crash, which happened between junctions six and seven near Epping, Essex.

He said: "A car struck the central reservation which left the driver with minor injuries. As a result, a lorry driver took evasive action and jack-knifed, losing his load of baked beans."

The carriageway was closed while the Highways Agency cleared it of the beans.

Witness Juliet Kinsman, who was in a taxi travelling behind the lorry, posted pictures of the scene on Twitter and wrote: "Oh my! Lorry just in front of us on M11 just spilled baked beans across motorway."

Ms Kinsman, 38, who was returning to her west London home from Stansted Airport after a work trip to Sicily, said: "I had thought driving on the roads in Sicily had been challenging!"

She added: "There were tins and actual little beans everywhere, across all carriageways - only in Britain - and we all had to drive past on the hard shoulder.

"I was with my four-year-old, Kitty, and while I was in part making light that there were beans everywhere, I was also trying to explain to her that we were blooming lucky not to have been right behind it.

"Amazing how you never know what is around the corner in life. I just was so grateful for the timing and that there wasn't much traffic on the road.

"Amusingly I couldn't resist making Kitty fish fingers and beans for supper."

The accident happened just before 3pm and the motorway was fully reopened by 6pm. The lorry driver was unhurt.