Two major crashes on M1 and M6 cause long closures in central England

Two major motorway incidents in central England this week forced long closures and widespread delays, after separate collisions on the M1 in Leicestershire on November 3 and on the M6 in Staffordshire on November 4. Both scenes required multiagency responses, diversions for stranded traffic and prolonged recovery and investigation work.

On the M1, police declared a major incident after a collision involving two lorries and an additional vehicle at 5.27am on November 3 between junctions 21 and 20, between Leicester and Lutterworth. The collision caused two vehicles to catch fire and a fuel spillage, prompting emergency services to close both carriageways. Leicestershire Police said the southbound carriageway would remain closed until approximately 8pm while recovery and specialist cleaning continued. The northbound side, which was also closed shortly after the crash, reopened to traffic just after 8am.

National Highways advised drivers to expect major delays and to allow extra time for journeys, and provided diversion routes rerouting traffic via the M69, A5 and A4303 to rejoin the M1. Leicestershire Police asked anyone on the motorway at the time to return to and remain in their...