M62 closed and all traffic stopped after lorry fire

Smoke can be seen billowing down the carriageway

The M62 is currently closed and all traffic has been stopped following a blaze(Image: Nottinghamshire PoliceNational Highways)

A section of the M62 is currently closed and all traffic has been stopped following a blaze. Smoke can be seen billowing into the air after a lorry caught fire on the motorway this morning (Friday) eastbound between junction 22 for Saddleworth and junction 23 for Huddersfield.

National Highways shared images of the lorry on fire, with smoke pictured billowing up into the air. The lorry was transporting sawdust at the time of the blaze and the fire is also said to have spread to the motorway embankment.

National Highways said: “The M62 in West Yorkshire is closed eastbound between J22 Rockingstone Moss Interchange (Saddleworth A672) and J24 Ainley Top Interchange (Huddersfield, Halifax A629) due to a substantial lorry fire which has spread to the embankment.

“West Yorkshire Fire, Police and National Highways are in attendance. Delays of 30 mins reported approach to the closure and expect delays with slow traffic on the diversion route.”

North West Motorway Police said: “Our Colleagues in the Yorkshire region are currently dealing with a HGV Fire on the M62 between junctions 22 & 23 on the Eastbound. This will have a knock on effect on the M62 in the GMP area. Please try and use an alternative route where possible.”

In a further update this morning, police said the M62 is now closed between junction 20 and junction 22 due to the lorry fire. Traffic monitoring site Inrix said: “M62 Eastbound blocked, severe delays due to lorry fire from J22 A672 (Rishworth Moor) to J23 A640 New Hey Road (Huddersfield). Road has been blocked since around 10:25am, traffic slows westbound as it passes the scene.”

For the latest news and breaking news visit http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/.

Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.

We’re also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho – your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.