Fuel spill shuts M6 southbound in Staffordshire as lorry driver hurt in crash

Suzan Holder, a writer and the wife of Slade frontman Noddy Holder, was one of the drivers caught up in the disruption.

Mrs Holder told the BBC she had been stuck at Stafford's M6 southbound services for over eight hours, since 10:30, while trying to drive from her home near Macclesfield to a garden centre near Wolverhampton to meet her mother.

"I saw the queue and I thought I'll wait it out at the services - and I'm still here," she said at 18:45, adding that some people who had tried to leave the services had returned because queues remained so severe.

Mrs Holder said the hotel at the services was now full and she was wondering if she would have to sleep on a sofa.

She added that people stuck at the services were "fed up" with the delays, and staff who had been working there since 06:00 were also unable to leave the site.

"You can't tell me that you can't get people off the motorway at a junction, after eight hours," she said.

Drivers stuck in traffic for up to six hours have also taken to X to vent their frustration.