A car fire on the M56 westbound near Runcorn led to severe delays on Thursday, June 25, as a heatwave affected England and Wales. The incident occurred between Junction 11 at Preston Brook and Junction 12 near Runcorn, closing all three lanes initially.
The fire was reported around 10.15am, according to AA Roadwatch. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene at 10.59am, extinguishing the blaze using breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet. Firefighters from Middlewich and Winsford, along with a weekday engine, were involved.
After the fire was put out, National Highways managed the clean-up of an oil spill that affected all three lanes. By 11.45am, firefighters completed checks with a thermal imaging camera and handed over to Highways. Traffic was later released, with lane three reopening while lanes one and two remained closed for vehicle recovery.
Delays reached up to 49 minutes, with average speeds of 5 mph, and congestion stretched back to Junction 10 at Stretton. Drivers were advised to allow extra travel time. The motorway fully reopened later, but residual delays of around 30 minutes persisted while congestion cleared.
Cheshire Police confirmed they did not attend the incident, which was handled by the fire service and National Highways. Traffic cameras later showed free-flowing traffic at Junction 11.
