Motorists were held up for several hours as recovery crews were drafted in to clear the Bayliner from the busy motorway

A Bayliner yacht was recovered from the side of the M25 on Thursday morning after falling off its trailer in the early hours and being struck by a lorry.

It took several hours for Highways England to recover the boat near junction 8 in Reigate.

The accident caused severe delays along the motorway, with several drivers taking to Twitter to make light of the situation.

Charlie Connelly posted to the social media site: “M25 closed at Reigate due to a “crash between a lorry and a boat”. I know we’ve had a lot of rain, but…”