There are delays of up to an hour and a half on the A1(M) southbound this morning between Letchworth and Welwyn after a lorry breakdown.

The breakdown, between Junction 7 for Stevenage and Junction 6 for Welwyn, has resulted in the inside lane being closed.

Traffic England indicates that it expects normal traffic conditions to return by 9.30am, with “delays of one-and-a-half hours against expected traffic”.

The tailbacks go back beyond Junction 9, for Letchworth Gate. There are also long queues coming onto the Junction 7 southbound slip-road in Stevenage, going back onto Gunnels Wood Road and along the A602 as far as the Shephall Way roundabout.

There are also delays coming onto the motorway at Junction 8, with queues on the A602 coming from Hitchin and backing up into Stevenage along the A602 and up Graveley Road into North Road.

Elsewhere on the roads, there is slow and queuing traffic in both directions in Baldock, either side of where Station Road meets Clothall Road.

Traffic coming into Stevenage Old Town from the north, via North Road, is slow all the way back to Graveley Road.

The B197 London Road/Stevenage Road between Woolmer Green and Stevenage, through Knebworth, also has heavy traffic due to the A1(M) delays.

In Hitchin, traffic is slow on the A505 towards Luton, along the A602 Park Way and Stevenage Road, and coming onto the B655 Pirton Road towards Hexton and Barton-le-Clay.