Fuel spill shuts M6 southbound after crash

The M6 southbound in Staffordshire is to remain closed overnight after hours of tailbacks following a crash and fuel spillage this morning.

The southbound route shut between junctions 14 Stafford and 13 for Dunston after a crash involving two lorries at about 09:00 GMT.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said a man was cut free from the wreckage by firefighters before he was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital with injuries which could be serious.

One of the lorry’s fuel tanks burst open in the crash and caused a "significant" diesel spillage, National Highways said.

National Highways added the closure would continue while the road was resurfaced, with police investigations at the scene ongoing.

On X, formerly Twitter, National Highways said it hoped the closure would be lifted by 08:00 on Wednesday "as long as there are no issues throughout the night."

All traffic caught up within the immediate closure was released after a lane was temporarily opened to allow drivers to exit the motorway.

Significant delays of about an hour have been reported across the day, with up to five miles (8km) of congestion at times on the southbound carriageway.

National Highways advised signed diversion routes were heavily congested, suggesting road users travelling southbound may want to exit at junction 15.

Suzan Holder, a writer and the wife of Slade frontman Noddy Holder, was one of the drivers caught up in the disruption.

Mrs Holder told the BBC she had been stuck at Stafford's M6 southbound services for over eight hours, since 10:30, while trying to drive from her home near Macclesfield to a garden centre near Wolverhampton to meet her mother.

“I saw the queue and I thought I’ll wait it out at the services – and I’m still here,” she said at 18:45, adding that some people who had tried to leave the services had returned because queues remained so severe.

Mrs Holder said the hotel at the services was now full and she was wondering if she would have to sleep on a sofa.

She added that people stuck at the services were "fed up" with the delays, and staff who had been working there since 06:00 were also unable to leave the site.

“You can’t tell me that you can’t get people off the motorway at a junction, after eight hours,” she said.

Drivers stuck in traffic for up to six hours have also taken to X to vent their frustration.

One user wrote: "Been at a standstill before junction 14 for hours, any plans for someone to help people off the motorway?"

Others complained of gridlock in Stafford as motorists sought alternative routes.

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