Crashes hit M6 travel at rush hour

Rush hour travellers on the M6 faced delays of up to an hour after a crash closed two lanes.

Oil was spilt across part of the carriageway after a lorry and two cars crashed between junctions six and seven, but queues backed up along the Aston Expressway and back to Junction 5 at Castle Bromwich.

No-one was hurt but the middle and inside lane were closed from 6.51am to 7.16am as vehicles were moved to the hard shoulder.

Highways Agency spokeswoman Jo Carroll said: “The cars were moved onto the hard shoulder but there was some oil spilt which needed to be cleared up.”

People were also affected by a crash between a lorry and car on the A38 slip road leading on to the M6 northbound carriageway in Birmingham. The first lane of the slip road closed until shortly after 9am.

Jo Carroll said: “Even though the incident was all cleared up in 12 minutes, while the motorway was clear, it did effect the rush hour traffic around the area leading to the slip road.”

One motorist said: “The M6 was barely crawling and traffic was running slowly on the Aston Expressway. Traffic was backed up at junction 6, so I decided to use the A34 but for a lot of people they had no choice but to wait.”