Dramatic photo shows car destroyed by fire on M6 causing long delays for motorists

Emergency services closed the motorway between junctions 13 and 14, near Stafford, after the white car caught fire.

National Highways West Midlands reported the incident on its social media channels at around 9.15am as Staffordshire Fire & Rescue crews doused the flames.

Staffordshire Police's Road Crime Team were also on the scene.

Writing on X at around 9.05am, a spokesperson said: "The southbound carriageway is now open. The northbound carriageway is also open with two lanes currently closed. There are heavy tailbacks in both directions so we would still advise to find alternative routes.

National Highways added on X at around the same time: "Lanes 3 and 4 (of 4) are now open on the M6 northbound between J13 and J14 near Stafford. Lanes 1 and 2 remain closed whilst @StaffsFire continue to work at scene.

"Delays on approach remain in excess of 60 minutes, with approx. 3.5 miles of congestion."

The vehicle was recovered by emergency teams at around 10.48am, with lanes two, three and four all being released.

Lane one remained closed to make way for emergency road surface repair works.