THERE was rush-hour chaos on the M5 this morning as two incidents happenedalmost simultaneously on both sides of the motorway.

A red Audi car caught fire on the northbound carriageway between Bromsgrove and Droitwich, at around 7am and, while no one was hurt, efforts to put the fire out meant there were tailbacks for more than three miles.

At the same time, a car veered into the central barrier on the southbound carriageway between the same junctions. Again, nobody was hurt.

"It wasn't a good morning to be travelling on the M5," said a motorway police spokesman.