Lorry fire causes M6 chaos

MOTORISTS faced long delays on the M6 after a lorry caught fire at a busy junction.
The lorry fire on the M6The lorry fire on the M6
The lorry fire on the M6

One lane had to be closed after the HGV burst into flames on the southbound carriageway, where the motorway meets the East Lancs Road, just before 8.50am on Monday.

The burning vehicle ended up on the hard shoulder on the slip road for the entrance to the M6.

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Fire crews from Newton-le-Willows and Eccleston stations attended the scene and used hose reels to extinguish the flames.

Highways England closed one lane of the entrance slip road and also shut one lane of the main carriageway to help drivers joining the M6.

The incident caused long delays on the southbound carriageway with queues stretching back towards Ashton.

Coun Edward Houlton, who represents Lowton East ward in the Wigan Council chamber, said: “I joined the motorway at junction 23 and the traffic was slow moving and building up quite a bit.

“Everyone was stopping to look because it was quite impressive.”

The incident was cleared by 9.40am.