Major motorway closed as overturned lorry catches on fire

Emergency services have rushed to the scene of an overturned lorry[1] that caught fire on a major motorway[2] this morning. Traffic on the M6 has been held up since the early hours after the vehicle turned over on the motorway's northbound stretch between J37 Kendal and J39 Shap. Roads have been closed, with National Highways saying: "All trapped traffic has now been released past the scene.

Lane 3 (of 3) lanes are also closed on the M6 southbound between J38 and J37."

10:14Liam Doyle

Traffic not expected to clear for hours

Traffic on the M6 is not expected to clear for up to two hours, Traffic England has said, with normal conditions not likely to return until between 11.45am and 12pm today. The estimation is more than a full hour up on previous estimations, which suggested "normal traffic conditions" could be expected at around 10.30am.

09:51Liam Doyle

Massive congestion compounded by local event in 'perfect storm' for traffic

Locals have said traffic on the M6 is impacted by an event near the crash site, causing the "perfect storm" for motorists trying to navigate the motorway. Congestion is also partly building in the area due to people coming and going from the Westmorland Agricultural Show, with the two-day event due to conclude today.

09:34Liam Doyle

Roads into Kendal dubbed 'absolute nightmare' as chaos continues

Motorists are still airing their frustrations on social media, with one driver saying the route into Kendal has become an "absolute nightmare" this morning.

They said: "Roads into Kendal are an absolute nightmare. Bypass queued up past turn off to Kendal at prizet."

09:25Liam Doyle

Drivers complain traffic at 'standstill'

Drivers using the unaffected lanes on the M6 today have said traffic is "standstill" on routes impacted by the HGV fire. One driver who was at the scene wrote on Facebook: "Having just driven the opposite way, it's standstill right up to Plumgarths roundabout." Another added that traffic is "backed up Northbound to the services at Carnforth".

09:12Liam Doyle

Stagecoach Cumbria forced to divert buses

Stagecoach Cumbria has said in a post on social media that its buses have been rerouted due to the issues on the M6, with soutbound services into Kendal now passing through Bowston.

We understand the M6 is now closed in both directions, all traffic will now be directed through Kendal.

Southbound 555 services into Kendal from Windermere will continue to divert through Bowston until further notice, northbound is unaffected but delayed. #lakesconnection #kendal[3][4]

-- Stagecoach Cumbria (@StagecoachCNL) September 11, 2025[5] 08:56Liam Doyle

Traffic not expected to return to normal until late morning

Traffic on the M6 is not expected to return to normal until late this morning, Traffic England states, with the incident clearing time currently predicted to be between 10.30am and 10.45am.

08:45KEY EVENT

Maps show massive scale of traffic disruption

Maps posted by the AA's traffic monitoring tool have captured the massive scale of traffic disruption, with road closures in place for miles along the M6 at the height of rush hour.

Maps show the massive scale of this mornings motorway closures08:40Liam Doyle

Full details of official closure

Highways England has given in-depth detail of the closures on the M6 today, with the organisation saying people can rejoin traffic at Junction 38, although the diversion route takes people to Junction 39. The agency states: "The M6 northbound in Cumbria is closed between J36 Crooklands Interchange (South Lakes, Kendal, Barrow A590 (A591); Kirkby Lonsdale, Skipton A65) and J39 Shap Interchange (Shap A6). This prevents access to J37 Killington Interchange (Kendal, Sedbergh A684) and J38 Tebay Interchange (Brough A685; Appleby B6260).

"Traffic is now able to re-join the M6 at J38, although the official diversion route brings traffic back on at J39."

08:26Liam Doyle

Multi-emergency response at scene

Multiple emergency services have arrived at the scene of the crash, with Cumbria Fire & Rescue, Cumbria Police, National Highways Traffic Officers and contractors seen working.

08:24KEY EVENT

Details of official diversion route

Chaos on the motorway this morning has forced Highways England to put together a diversion, with road users told to exit the road at Junction 36 before following a route "marked with a hollow diamond symbol on local road signs". The route is as follows:

• Exit J36, Farleton, take A590 westbound to the Brettargh Holt junction
• Follow A591 to Plumgarths Roundabout. Take the third exit, A5284 to Kendal.
• Follow A5284 Windermere Road / Stricklandgate, turning left with All traffic onto A6 Sandes Avenue.
• Follow the A6 northbound out of Kendal towards Shap Toll Bar junction
• At Shap Toll Bar junction turn right onto the B6261 and then turn left at M6 J39, Shap

08:19Liam Doyle

Motorists told to avoid area

Motorists travelling along the affected stretch of the M6 this morning have been advised to avoid the area if possible as traffic remains heavy.

08:07Liam Doyle

Full statement from National Highways following traffic incident

National Highways said in a statement this morning that closures on the M6 have been introduced due to "an overturned lorry that is also on fire".

The service said: "M6 northbound between J37 Kendal and J39 Shap Cumbria ROAD CLOSED. Due to an overturned lorry that is also on fire. All trapped traffic has now been released past the scene.

Lane 3 (of 3) lanes are also closed on the M6 southbound between J38 and J37."

References

1. ^ lorry (www.mirror.co.uk)
2. ^ motorway (www.mirror.co.uk)
3. ^ #lakesconnection (twitter.com)
4. ^ #kendal (twitter.com)
5. ^ September 11, 2025 (twitter.com)