M5 fire: Car bursts into flames in Somerset as fire crews rush to blaze

A car burst into flames^[1] on the M5 in Somerset^[2] this afternoon (November 12). A lane was forced to close heading southbound as emergency services dealt with the blaze.

The fire broke out between junction 20 for Clevedon^[3] and junction 21 for Weston-super-Mare^[4]. The closure was put in place at around 1.30pm before being lifted at 2.10pm.

Pictures from the scene show the car - a Peugeot - engulfed in flames on the hard shoulder. Fire crews can also be seen in attendance as they worked to extinguish the fire.

There was around three miles of traffic approaching the closure. Motorists were hit with delays of around half an hour.

National Highways South West said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) at 1.29pm: "A lane is closed on the #M5 southbound between J20 #Clevedon and J21 #WestonSuperMare due to a car fire.

"There is around 3 miles of congestion approaching the closure which is adding about half an hour to average journey times."

It said in an update at 2.09pm: "All lanes are now open on the #M5 southbound between J20 #Clevedon and J21 #WestonSuperMare. Thanks for being patient"

References

1. ^{^} burst into flames (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Somerset (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Clevedon (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Weston-super-Mare (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Victims of Somerset Gimp fear real one 'may still be on prowl' (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Somerset pub rated best for Sunday roast by top chef (www.somersetlive.co.uk)