Surprised motorists were caught off guard in Essex after realising an obstruction ahead was not caused by another vehicle, but a large yacht wedged underneath railway arches in Chelmsford city centre.

The bizarre incident, which forced motorists into a single lane while approaching the Essex city centre, was caught on camera by a passing driver on Saturday morning.

Traffic was seen building up towards Victoria Road South and the High Chelmer Car Park due to the obstruction. 

Workers wearing high-vis clothing stood at the rear of the vessel attempting to help the driver of the low-loader navigate through the archway, Essex Live reports.

A sign on the back of the low-loader reading 'Bred Last', meaning 'Wide Load', is commonly used on transportation vehicles across Scandinavia.  

A bridge too far: Surprised motorists were caught off guard in Essex after realising an obstruction ahead was not caused by another vehicle, but a large yacht wedged underneath railway arches in Chelmsford city centre

(Not) sailing through: The yacht became stuck while passing through an archway connected to a railway bridge used by Greater Anglia trains

The bridge is used by Greater Anglia trains heading in and out of Chelmsford.

A video of the stuck boat as been seen more than half a million times on Facebook.

Essex Highways said it was not an issue which they would provide information on.

Essex Police, meanwhile, said they were called at around 9.20am, but the boat was free 10 minutes later.