M5 stopped traffic J19–J18 northbound

Stopped traffic on the M5 northbound at J19–J18 on Friday 16 October 2026, from 15:36. Still reported at 17:04 UK time. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Live since 15:36 (1 h 28 min)

Location

M5 northbound · J19–J18

Reported as

Obstruction or hazard

Delay

~41 min

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~108 min

Sources

TomTom ×2 · Motorway signs

Timeline

1. 15:36 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~38 min
2. 15:54 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~6 min
3. 15:58 TomTom: delay now ~70 min (was ~51)
4. 15:59 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
5. 16:31 Motorway signs: “DEBRIS IN ROAD - SLOW”

Source reports

• Stationary traffic
• Slow traffic
• Overhead signs read “DEBRIS IN ROAD - SLOW” (1 sign; furthest along: M5 northbound between J19 and J18).

Other recent incidents on the M5

• M5 crash J10–J9 northbound13:11 · Live
• M5 stopped traffic J1–J2 southbound10:57 · Live
• M5 crash J4A–J5 southboundyesterday 23:54 · cleared after 1 h 54 min
• M5 closed J24–J23yesterday 21:40 · cleared after 3 h 26 min
• M5 crash J8–J7 northboundyesterday 12:20 · cleared after 54 min
• M5 reported crash J10–J9 northboundWed 10:03 · cleared after 1 h 1 min
• M5 crash J11A–J11 northboundWed 07:50 · cleared after 50 min
• M5 closed J24–J23Wed 02:47 · cleared after 2 h 54 min
• M5 crash J25–J24 southboundTue 16:07 · cleared after 7 h 54 min
• M5 stopped traffic J6–J5Tue 07:28 · cleared after 1 h 27 min

The sources don't report causes or injuries, so neither does this page. Times are UK time. For alerts, follow @motorways.me on Bluesky.