M42 in Warwickshire reopens after haybale fire keeps reigniting

Haybales kept reigniting throughout the afternoon. Credit: National Highways

The M42 in Warwickshire has fully reopened this morning after a lorry fire involving haybales closed the road for most of yesterday (January 16).

The stretch of road between Junction 3A for the M40 interchange to Junction 3 for Redditch closed at around 14:30 yesterday afternoon.

Drivers were asked to follow diversions away from the southbound carriageway, while National Highways and fire crews tackled the blaze and repaired the road.

Fire crews battled throughout the night to extinguish the fire. Credit: National Highways

There were approximately six miles of congestion when the incident was first reported.

The road was reopened at around 02:30 this morning after recovery and clean-up work was completed.Traffic is now flowing freely along the route.