Bank holiday motorists were plunged into traffic chaos when an LPG-fuelled car overheated and caught fire on the M40 in Warwickshire.
A spokesman from Warwickshire Fire Service said three fire engines were deployed along with an industrial-sized bowser to provide additional water to extinguish the burning LPG Range Rover before it exploded.
Firefighters and officers from the Highways Agency closed both the northbound and southbound carriageways between Junctions 16 and 15 to tackle the blaze shortly after 4.30pm yesterday.
It meant that holidaymakers and other road users travelling from the south of England faced two-hour delays and a five-mile long tailback on the northbound section stretching back to Junction 14.
The driver escaped from the vehicle, which had burst into flames on the hard shoulder of the northbound carriageway near Shrewley, without sustaining injury. No one else was injured.
Flames from the car caused smoke to engulf a nearby bridge but there was no extensive damage and the bridge was deemed safe by Highways’ officials.
Bob Clarke, from Kinver in Staffordshire, was one of hundreds of motorists who left their stationary cars during the queue in an attempt to find out what had happened.
“You could see a lot of smoke in the distance,” he said. “The flames were not directly under the bridge so there was only smoke logging.”
Diversion signs advising drivers to avoid the M40 were put in place along the northbound carriageways of the M5, M6 and M1.
Two lanes on the M40 southbound carriageway were reopened at about 6.45pm while the northbound carriageway was said to have returned to normal traffic conditions by 8pm.
