M1 motorway reopens after bin lorry fire

A motorway with cars moving along the inside lane. On the red hard shoulder is black smoke coming out of what was a vehicle.Dermot Murray

Firefighters extinguised a large blaze after a bin lorry caught fire while transporting waste on a Belfast-bound lane of the M1

A fire in a bin lorry on the M1 motorway which caused huge tailbacks for traffic headling into Belfast now been extinguished.

The M1 was temporarily closed between junction 6 and junction 3 Belfast bound to allow the recovery of the burnt out vehicle.

All lanes of the carriageway have now fully reopened.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.

NIFRS dispatched two fire appliances from Lisburn and one from Cadogan to attend the incident.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used hose reel jets to extinguish the blaze and make the area safe.

The incident was dealt with by 15:09 BST, NIFRS said.

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