Crews work around the clock after HGV fires damage two busy Staffordshire roads

Two major Staffordshire roads have reopened after highways crews worked quickly to repair damage caused by separate HGV fires just days apart.

The A460 Cannock Road in Featherstone and the A34 Cannock Road at Bednall both required resurfacing after being damaged by vehicle fires.

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The first incident happened on the A460 on Thursday, September 10, forcing the road to close while the HGV was dealt with and removed.

Highways crews helped with diversions throughout the day before moving in early on Friday morning to remove the damaged section of carriageway.

The road was then resurfaced and reopened ahead of the Friday evening rush hour.

Just four days later, crews were faced with a similar situation when another HGV caught fire on the A34 Cannock Road at Bednall in the early hours of Monday, September 14.

The road was closed while the vehicle was removed and the extent of the damage to the carriageway assessed.

Contractors arrived early that evening to plane out the affected section before resurfacing and relining the road, allowing it to reopen later the same night.

No one was hurt in either incident.

Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for strategic highways, said having two major vehicle fires within such a short period was "unprecedented".

He said: “Obviously closing a major A road will lead to some disruption, and as soon as the incidents were dealt with, our aim in both cases was to get the roads open as soon as it was safe to do so and minimise this disruption.

“This meant mobilising crews and materials quickly.

“Crews worked incredibly hard to get these roads planed, resurfaced and open as soon as it was safe to do so.

“I want to thank them for their hard work, and everyone else for their patience while crews worked to get these routes open again.”