THE M5 has been closed after a vehicle caught fire on the motorway on Wednesday, October 1.

The closure took place between junctions 28 and 29 when a vehicle transporter carrying nine electric vehicles caught on fire at 6.44am. Delays of 40 minutes on approach to the closure were reported at points during the closure.

The northbound section was reopened at 10.22am, and while the third lane of the M5 southbound has been opened to release trapped traffic, the road remains closed between the affected junctions.

In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police said: “The north-bound carriageway of the M5 has now reopened. Emergency services are continuing their work on the south-bound carriageway between Junctions 29 and 28 following a lorry fire , near Cullompton, this morning.

“Our officers have been working with Highways colleagues to clear the backlog of traffic on the motorway.

“The incident remains ongoing and we'll provide further updates when we are able to.”

A spokesperson for National Highways said: “The M5 was fully closed between junctions 28 and 29 following transporter lorry carrying nine electric vehicles catching fire this morning.

“The incident occurred at 6.44am and the road was fully closed for safety reasons while Devon and Cornwall Fire Service tackled the fire.

“The northbound carriageway was reopened at 10.22am while lane three of the southbound carriageway has been opened to release trapped traffic.

“Southbound traffic is being diverted in the meantime from junction 28 and via the B3181 to rejoin the M5 at junction 30.

“The complex vehicle recovery operation and clear-up work will take place once traffic has been released, and resurfacing repairs will be carried out tonight under the closure (8pm to 6am) for the planned overnight resurfacing work between junctions 28 and 29.”