There were queues of more than six miles as emergency services responded
Firefighters tackle the blaze at Friday morning(Image: X (@tootsbootsuk))
This is the moment a car was engulfed in flames on the M56, sparking massive delays.
The vehicle caught fire on the eastbound stretch of the motorway in Cheshire, heading towards Greater Manchester, between junction 14 for Chester Services and junction 12 for Runcorn shortly after 7.50am this morning (Friday).
Police and fire crews were scrambled to the scene. Two lanes were closed whilst firefighters tackled the blaze.
A picture from the scene showed bright orange flames having completely engulfed and gutted the car, as a firefighter wearing breathing apparatus tackled it with a jet. No one was injured in the incident.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Crews were called to one vehicle well alight on the hard shoulder of the M56 West between junctions 12 to 14.
Quues on the M56 in Cheshire this morning
“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used one hose reel jet to extinguish the fire, and a thermal imaging camera to check for hotspots.
“Two lanes were closed while the incident was dealt with, and the scene was left with National Highways.”
Whilst the two lanes were closed, queues began stretching back more than six miles with National Highways saying there were delays of up to an hour and 20 minutes.
When crews left the scene around 9am, one lane was left closed.
In an update at 9:40am they said the vehicle had been recovered and all lanes had re-opened.
“Delays are reducing, up to 30 minutes with approx. 5 miles of congestion. Please allow a little time for the delays to ease.”
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