Radical farmers have caused more problems on the roads, and several cars were involved in an accident on the A7 where tyres had been dumped on Wednesday evening.

The A1 heading for Apeldoorn has been closed because asbestos was tipped onto the motorway and needs to be cleared up by experts. It will be shut between Voorst and Beekbergen until the afternoon at least, the government’s roads department said.

On Wednesday evening it emerged that the first contractor brought in to clear the road had stopped after receiving threats. A second company has now been found.

⚠️ | Helaas hebben wij nog geen aannemer kunnen vinden om de #A1 richting Amersfoort vrij te maken. De kans is daarom aanwezig dat de weg tussen Voorst en knp. Beekbergen ook morgenochtend dicht blijft. Moet je morgenvroeg op pad? Check dan voor vertrek https://t.co/AkieH72Pmg. pic.twitter.com/32dHEH0lca

— Rijkswaterstaat Verkeersinformatie (@RWSverkeersinfo) July 27, 2022

Asbestos has also been dumped on the A7 by Medemblik and the road has been closed in both directions while the mess is cleared up. Several A7 slip roads have also been closed because of the farmers’ actions. There are also protest-related problems on the A28 and the A50, the ANWB motoring organisation said.

The police have warned drivers to be careful. ‘Rubbish can be dumped just like that and can create extremely dangerous situations,’ a spokesman said.

So far at least three accidents have been reported, but no-one has yet been injured.

Justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz said on Twitter that farmers were fast losing public support.

‘Vandalising roads, setting fires and threatening people who come to clear up your rubbish. I would say to farmers, “you are not only losing support for your campaign, but the police are going to track you down if they can. A criminal record has consequences”.’

The farmers are protesting about government plans to tackle nitrogen based pollution, which mean some will have to close down their businesses.