M6 closed J6–J5 southbound (broken-down vehicle)

Road closure on the M6 southbound at J6–J5 on Saturday 31 October 2026, from 13:57. Cleared at 19:40 after 5 h 43 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Cleared 19:40 on 31 Oct 2026, after 5 h 43 min

Location

M6 southbound · J6–J5

Reported as

Broken-down vehicle

Lanes

Road closed

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~51 min

Sources

Motorway signs ×6 · TomTom ×6

Timeline

1. Sat 13:57 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
2. Sat 14:47 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
3. Sat 15:08 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
4. Sat 15:39 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
5. Sat 15:39 All clear: no source reports it any more
6. Sat 15:41 Motorway signs: “PEDESTRIANS IN ROAD-SLOW”
7. Sat 15:43 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
8. Sat 15:51 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~6 min
9. Sat 15:55 TomTom: now says obstruction or hazard, “Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire”
10. Sat 16:00 TomTom: delay now ~21 min (was ~8)
11. Sat 16:05 TomTom: delay now ~32 min (was ~21)
12. Sat 16:10 TomTom no longer reports it
13. Sat 16:15 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~20 min (reported again)
14. Sat 16:16 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
15. Sat 16:23 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
16. Sat 16:25 TomTom: delay now ~30 min (was ~23)
17. Sat 16:39 Motorway signs no longer show “PEDESTRIANS IN ROAD-SLOW”
18. Sat 16:55 TomTom: delay now ~41 min (was ~29)
19. Sat 17:00 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Bridge closed, Vehicle fire”, road closed
20. Sat 17:01 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~6 min
21. Sat 17:10 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
22. Sat 17:15 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
23. Sat 17:25 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
24. Sat 17:35 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire”, delay ~39 min
25. Sat 17:49 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
26. Sat 17:54 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire, Lane closed”, delay ~27 min
27. Sat 17:59 TomTom: delay now ~42 min (was ~31)
28. Sat 17:59 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Bridge closed, Vehicle fire”, road closed (reported again)
29. Sat 18:09 Motorway signs no longer show “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
30. Sat 18:10 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~5 min (reported again)
31. Sat 18:14 TomTom: now says obstruction or hazard, delay now ~24 min (was ~50), “traffic, Vehicle fire”
32. Sat 18:19 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~13 min
33. Sat 18:39 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Slow traffic, Vehicle fire, Lane closed”, delay ~4 min (reported again)
34. Sat 18:39 Motorway signs no longer show “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
35. Sat 18:44 TomTom no longer reports it
36. Sat 19:40 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
37. Sat 19:40 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW” (1 sign; furthest along: M6 southbound between J6 and J5).
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 southbound between J6 and J5).
• Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire
• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN” (3 signs; furthest along: M6 southbound between J6 and J5).
• Overhead signs read “PEDESTRIANS IN ROAD-SLOW” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J5 and J6).
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J6 and J7).
• Bridge closed, Vehicle fire
• Queuing traffic
• Slow traffic, Vehicle fire, Lane closed
• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M6 southbound between J7 and J6).
• Stationary traffic

Other recent incidents on the M6

• M6 reported crash J16–J15 southboundyesterday 13:25 · cleared after 56 min
• M6 stopped traffic J6–J7 northboundyesterday 11:58 · cleared after 2 h 22 min
• M6 crash J18–J19 southboundyesterday 11:12 · cleared after 59 min
• M6 crash J23–J22 southboundyesterday 06:45 · cleared after 3 h 4 min
• M6 stopped traffic J9–J10yesterday 06:09 · cleared after 3 h 17 min
• M6 crash J4 southboundyesterday 05:53 · cleared after 3 h 52 min
• M6 stopped traffic J10–J9 southboundSun 18:24 · cleared after 4 h 40 min
• M6 crash J15–J14 southboundSun 16:45 · cleared after 14 h 4 min
• M6 stopped traffic J18–J19 northboundSun 16:02 · cleared after 1 h 31 min
• M6 crash J13–J14 northboundSun 14:01 · cleared after 43 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M6 J6 and M6 J5.

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