Motorists faced traffic chaos this morning when a fatal road accident forced police to close the northbound carriageway of the M1 between junctions two and five.

The motorway is expected to be closed for several hours following the accident earlier this morning when a car span out of control and came to rest on the embankment between junctions four and five.

A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire police, said: "The motorway is expected to be closed for several hours and motorists are advised to find alternative routes."

Road users who wish to travel north should use the A41 via Hendon and follow the A1 northbound.

A spokesman for AA Roadwatch, said: "The A41 and A1 are pretty busy at the moment as one would imagine at this time but thankfully it is not a normal back-to-work day so we would still advise motorists to use this route."