Three collisions completely shut motorway in Wigan

The fire service said there were three collisions in total close to junction 25 at Marus Bridge.

Two of them occurred on the northbound carriageway and one on the southbound.

Police attributed the incidents to the poor weather conditions which made driving extremely hazardous.

Some motorists were trapped on the two carriageways between junction 23 and junction 26, with some having to wait up to two hours to resume their journeys. Drivers travelling north were advised to leave the M6 at junction 23 if they could to avoid the incident.

The police and highways engineers eventually managed to open lanes to let the cars through.

The fire service said there were fortunately no serious injuries, although the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) checked people at the scene.

Firefighters said there were five vehicles involved in the southbound carriageway collision and a further four in the two incidents on the northbound.

The crews were at the scene for around an hour.

Both carriageways of the M6 were able to reopen on Thursday evening.

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