FIRE crews are battling a blaze in a caravan park in Cranham after a workshop set alight this morning.
The blaze forced the closure of the A127 between Junction 29 and Front Lane near Upminster causing commuter chaos this morning as traffic was directed onto the M25.
Police have now reopened the eastbound carriageway fully and have partially reopened the westbound carriageway after removing a restriction zone of around 300 metres which had been imposed earlier.
Eight fire engines were called at 8.14am to attend the blaze as forty fire fighters battled flames and unstable gas cylinders after a single storey caravan workshop went up in flames.
Fifty caravans caught alight in the blaze but crews worked tirelessly throughout the morning to control the flames and by midday all gas cylinders on the site had been cooled.
Thirty local residents had to be evacuated from their homes as a precaution although no one was injured and they have returned to their homes since.