A lorry pile-up in which one person died and a separate lorry blaze in Staffordshire caused congestion on the motorway system in the Midlands.

Part of the M1 was closed after the crash involving four lorries and a people carrier at Junction 19A, close to the border of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire near Rugby.

Leicestershire police said one person had died in the incident which led to the northbound carriageway being closed for eight hours.

The incident happened at 2.30pm yesterday close to where the M1 meets the M6 at Catthorpe interchange.

Two other people were trapped in the wreckage of the vehicles and had to be freed by firefighters.

One was taken to hospital by air ambulance.

And on the southbound carriageway of the M6 was blocked for more than three hours by the lorry fire.

Firefighters were called to the blazing HGV with a load of plastic computer parts on fire between junctions 10A and 10 at 4.48pm yesterday. It took nearly two hours to extinguish the blaze.

No one was hurt in the incident and no other vehicles were involved but the thick smoke caused the closure of the carriageway and traffic queues tailed back to Junction 13 at Stafford. The M54 was also closed eastbound.

The carriageway was re-opened at 7.20pm.

The Highways Agency is carrying out re-surfacing work on the hard shoulder and inside lane which were damaged by the blaze.