M56 crash J5–J6 westbound

Crash on the M56 westbound at J5–J6 on Wednesday 21 October 2026, from 07:53. Cleared at 09:51 after 1 h 59 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Cleared 09:51 on 21 Oct 2026, after 1 h 59 min

Location

M56 westbound · J5–J6

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Delay ~10 min

Sources

TomTom ×2 · Motorway signs ×4

Timeline

1. 07:53 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~3 min
2. 08:02 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
3. 08:06 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
4. 08:20 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
5. 08:41 Motorway signs: “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
6. 08:46 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION”
7. 08:48 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
8. 08:52 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~3 min
9. 09:13 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF PEDESTRIANS”
10. 09:15 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
11. 09:21 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION”
12. 09:29 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
13. 09:38 TomTom no longer reports it
14. 09:51 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
15. 09:51 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF PEDESTRIANS”
16. 09:51 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Slow traffic
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M56 westbound between J5 and J6).
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION” (2 signs; furthest along: M56 eastbound between J7 and J6).
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF PEDESTRIANS” (2 signs; furthest along: M56 westbound between J5 and J6).
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF PEDESTRIANS” (2 signs; furthest along: M56 eastbound between J7 and J6).

Other recent incidents on the M56

• M56 stopped traffic J4–J5yesterday 15:23 · cleared after 3 h 54 min
• M56 reported crash J3–J2 eastboundMon 13:59 · cleared after 41 min
• M56 crash J5 westboundMon 13:59 · cleared after 5 h 14 min
• M56 closed J5 westboundSat 19:38 · cleared after 12 h 25 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3–J2Fri 13:43 · cleared after 3 h 50 min
• M56 crash J10–J9Fri 12:47 · cleared after 1 h 10 min
• M56 crash J3–J4 westboundFri 04:41 · cleared after 1 h 38 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3AThu 18:16 · cleared after 32 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3–J2Thu 15:26 · cleared after 2 h 8 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3–J4 westbound14 Oct 2026 18:00 · cleared after 39 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.