Firefighters called to M4 lorry blaze near Membury Services

This initially led to a full closure of the eastbound carriageway, with lanes reopening as the afternoon progressed. The incident resulted in long queues and slow traffic on the M4 eastbound. A spokesperson for Dorset and Wiltshire fire service said:

"We were called to the M4 eastbound between J15 and Membury Services at 3:12pm today (November 10) for a lorry's tractor unit well alight on the hard shoulder. "Two crews attended, from Stratton and Swindon, and two breathing apparatus wearers and one hose reel jet have been used to extinguish the fire. "The stop was at 4:43pm.

The motorway was closed eastbound for a while, but we have now handed over to the police and National Highways and two lanes have reopened."

Normal traffic conditions are expected to return to the road between 9:30 and 9:45pm this evening.