'Serious crash' sparks long tailbacks on motorway

A stretch of the M5 has been closed in both directions

A lorry crashed through a central reservation and collided with two vehicles during a "serious" incident which closed a section of the M5, Highways England said.

The northbound route has been shut between J15 (Almondsbury Interchange) to J14 (Thornbury and Falfield) following the collision, which happened at about 15:00 BST.

A National Highways spokesperson confirmed emergency services are at the scene of a "serious collision", and there are delays of 30 minutes.

Motorists have been urged to "allow extra time and to consider alternate routes".

All traffic is at a standstill on the northbound carriageway and one lane is shut on the southbound carriageway.

The northbound closure is expected to be in place throughout the evening to enable investigation work, spillage clean up, vehicle recovery and barrier repairs, National Highways said.

Northbound traffic is being diverted from J16 along the A38 before re-joining the M5 at J14.

The B4059 has also seen two hour delays, as people try and divert from the A38, National Highways said.

A National Highways spokesperson said it was still an "ongoing incident" so they could not yet give a re-opening time.

They added that vehicle stuck in the closure area will be released "shortly".