M5 stopped traffic J5–J4A northbound

Stopped traffic on the M5 northbound at J5–J4A on Sunday 1 November 2026, from 09:58. Cleared at 11:32 after 1 h 34 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs, TomTom and National Highways.

Status

Cleared 11:32 on 1 Nov 2026, after 1 h 34 min

Location

M5 northbound · J5–J4A

Reported as

Obstruction or hazard

Lanes

2 of 4 lanes closed

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~22 min

Sources

Motorway signs · TomTom · National Highways

Timeline

1. Sun 09:58 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE”
2. Sun 09:58 National Highways: 2 of 4 lanes closed
3. Sun 10:18 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~6 min
4. Sun 10:28 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
5. Sun 10:46 TomTom: delay now ~18 min (was ~12)
6. Sun 10:57 National Highways: lane closure lifted
7. Sun 11:23 TomTom: delay now ~10 min (was ~20), “Queuing traffic”
8. Sun 11:27 TomTom: delay now ~4 min (was ~10)
9. Sun 11:27 Motorway signs no longer show “VEHICLE FIRE”
10. Sun 11:32 TomTom no longer reports it
11. Sun 11:32 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE” (1 sign; furthest along: M5 northbound between J5 and J4A).
• Queuing traffic
• M5 northbound between J5 and J4A

Other recent incidents on the M5

• M5 reported crash J7–J8 southbound01:00 · cleared after 53 min
• M5 reported crash J10–J9 northbound00:52 · cleared after 31 min
• M5 reported crash J16–J15 northboundyesterday 23:18 · cleared after 1 h 35 min
• M5 crash J7–J8 southboundyesterday 17:51 · cleared after 2 h 31 min
• M5 crash J6–J7 southboundyesterday 17:44 · cleared after 37 min
• M5 closed J24–J23Sun 23:32 · cleared after 37 min
• M5 crash J3–J2 southboundSun 17:33 · cleared after 1 h 23 min
• M5 stopped traffic J20–J19 northboundSun 16:07 · cleared after 2 h 9 min
• M5 reported crash J13–J14 southboundSun 15:59 · cleared after 46 min
• M5 crash J8–J7 northboundSun 13:26 · cleared after 2 h 18 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M5 J5 and M5 J4A.

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