THE M5 motorway past Wellington was closed southbound on Sunday evening (November 8) after a multi-vehicle crash occurred in thick fog.

Up to eight vehicles were believed to have been involved with one ending up on its roof in a crash which happened at about 6 pm.

The accident happened near junction 27 for Tiverton and resulted in all traffic being stopped on the southbound lanes as far as Wellington’s junction 26.

Vehicles were expected to be held for up to an hour before they could be directed onto other roads as emergency services attended to casualties at the scene and cleared the carriageway.

One estimate was that the motorway would not be reopened until about 9 pm.

The Met Office had earlier issued a yellow weather warning for heavy fog in the Westcountry from 6 pm on Sunday until 11 am on Monday.

However, it had said the affected area was not likely to spread south of Taunton.