MOTORISTS have been left with "serious but non-life threatening" injuries after a multiple vehicle smash in an A12 layby.

At about 2pm the crash happened on the northbound carriageway in the layby just after Brook Street roundabout junction.

Four lorries, a truck and a van were involved in the incident which forced police to close off one lane of the dual carriageway, causing traffic to be delayed locally.

A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: "A number of people have been seriously injured but none are thought to be in a life threatening condition."

Firefighters from Chelmsford, Grays and Harold Hill were called out to the scene to help cut free motorists stuck in the vehicles.