THOUSANDS of motorists were caught up in traffic mayhem yesterday when high winds wreaked havoc.

The A1 and A66 were both closed following fatal accidents, causing massive tailbacks and jamming many roads as winds gusted to 75mph.

The winds also disrupted power to 15,000 homes in Durham, Bishop Auckland, Sunderland, Whitby and York. Last night, about 3,000 customers were still without power.

The A1 was shut between Dishforth and Scotch Corner for most of the day when an Austrian chemical tanker crashed just before 6.30am.

The road did not fully reopen for more than 12 hours.

At the height of last night's rush hour, there was a three-mile tailback of vehicles on the northbound carriageway waiting to be diverted on to the A168 then on to the A19.

The tanker, which was carrying 24.5 tonnes of phthalicanhydride, a white crystalline chemical, was travelling north when it ploughed through the central reservation near Catterick in North Yorkshire.

It shed its load before hitting another HGV and colliding with a telegraph pole.

The driver, who was believed to be from the Continent, was killed instantly. The second lorry driver was described as "walking wounded" by police, who said the cause of the crash was not yet clear.

Firefighters set up a 200 metre exclusion zone around the crash site while they waited for a specialist cleaning company to dispose of the chemical, which has a low toxicity, but is an irritant.

However, when mixed with water, it converts to acid that can burn the skin so yesterday morning's heavy rain posed a major problem.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue spokesman Nigel Phillips said: "As soon as it stopped raining the risk to our personnel decreased rapidly. We prevented anything from getting into the water courses and drains."