This is the bone-chilling moment a lorry pulls out from a motorway exit lane in front of speeding traffic on the M25, nearly causing a major accident Thursday afternoon.

The close call was caught by lorry driver John Mitchell who was travelling on the ring-road near Hertfordshire in his own heavy goods vehicle at the time.

"[The] truck was in the left-hand lane," said Mitchell. "At first I thought he wanted the next lane but he had other ideas."

"I left it a bit late to move over as I had to check the lane next to me quickly, then as I swerved my back end felt like it was shifting so as I swerved the other way I felt it more so rather than keep swerving I straightened up and aimed for hard shoulder"

He later added that he based his reaction on the course of action that would result in the least possible devastation. "By staying put and at speed I wasn't forcing anyone else to brake and have a possible accident."

Viewers of the video have speculated that the lorry in question was left-hand drive, which could explain why they undertook such a manoeuvre without proper caution.