The delayed reopening of the M5 has caused substantial backlogs this morning.

An overnight closure was in place on the M5 last night as teams worked to repair the damage caused by a lorry fire early yesterday morning.

The motorway was due to be shut southbound between J5 A38 (Droitwich / Wychbold) and J6 A4538 Pershore Lane (Worcester) from 7pm yesterday evening until 5am this morning while repairs and recovery works were carried out. 

However, crews only reopened the M5 at around 7.30am this morning, with one lane remaining closed for ongoing repairs. 

As a result, there are long tailbacks on Pershore lane, with traffic queues stretching back past the Copcut junction and along the A38 into Droitwich, currently adding over ten minutes onto commuter's journeys. 

Motorists also got stuck in standstills between J4 and J5 of the M5 this morning as they were unexpectedly forced to divert.

Smaller queues are also starting to build on the A449 approaching the Sixways roundabout.

Motorists experienced huge delays yesterday as emergency services responded to a lorry that had caught fire while carrying 28 tonnes of bitumen shortly before 5am. 

All four lanes were closed as crews worked to get the fire under control, initially causing nine-mile tailbacks.

A further crash between a car and a HGV on the same stretch of the M5 also caused further hold-ups, with crews from the Hereford and Worcester fire service having to extract a driver from their car.

One lane will remain closed this morning while complex repair works take place.