M62 closed eastbound after lorry transporting sawdust catches fire

The M62 was closed for several hours on Friday after a lorry carrying sawdust caught fire.

Smoke was seen billowing across the motorway after the vehicle was engulfed in flames between junction 22 for Saddleworth and junction 23 for Huddersfield on Friday morning.

National Highways said the fire spread to the embankment.

The eastbound carriageway was closed on Friday morning, with traffic held at junction 22.

The closure was then extended to junction 20 for Rochdale, with delays of an hour reported.

Pictures from the scene showed the charred remains of the lorry at the side of the road.

A spokesperson for National Highways said: "Due to the nature of the load on the lorry, the fire is proving difficult to fully extinguish as it keeps re-igniting.

"There is also substantial drifting smoke from the lorry fire which is affecting both carriageways. It is therefore not safe to allow traffic on the eastbound carriageway to run past the scene."

Two lanes of the westbound carriageway were temporarily closed due to drifting smoke but reopened at around 1.30pm.

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