'Substantial' lorry fire causes motorway closure

A lorry carrying sawdust which caught fire on the M62 in West Yorkshire has caused major delays for motorists.

The blaze, which started at about 10:20 GMT on Friday and soon spread to the embankment, was described by a National Highways spokesperson as "substantial". They also confirmed the lorry driver safely escaped the fire.

On Friday evening, the eastbound carriageway remained closed between junction 20 for Rochdale and Oldham and junction 24 for Huddersfield and Halifax and drivers were warned to expect delays of about 30 minutes.

At about 19:00 GMT, a National Highways spokesperson said on X, formerly Twitter, that the lorry had been recovered and the clean-up was "in the final stages".

Crews from several fire stations in West Yorkshire were involved in tackling the blaze

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service previously said crews from Slaithwaite, Illingworth, Rastrick and Halifax fire stations had been at the scene tackling the blaze.

Drivers were advised to find alternative routes and two lanes of the westbound carriageway were also closed for a time due to drifting smoke.

Posting on X, National Highways said extra officers had been deployed to turn traffic around as fire crews were "not happy" to allow traffic to travel past the scene.

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