M6 crash J25–J26 northbound

Crash on the M6 northbound at J25–J26 on Friday 23 October 2026, from 02:26. Cleared at 04:31 after 2 h 6 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs, TomTom and National Highways.

Status

Cleared 04:31 on 23 Oct 2026, after 2 h 6 min

Location

M6 northbound · J25–J26

Reported as

Collision

Lanes

2 of 4 lanes closed

At its worst

Delay ~6 min

Sources

Motorway signs ×3 · TomTom · National Highways ×6

Timeline

1. 02:26 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE”
2. 02:37 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
3. 02:46 Motorway signs: “COLLISION [HCA0]”
4. 02:51 TomTom: now says collision, “Slow traffic, Accident”
5. 03:00 TomTom: “Queuing traffic, Accident”
6. 03:01 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE”
7. 03:05 Motorway signs: “COLLISION”
8. 03:10 TomTom no longer reports it
9. 03:22 National Highways: 1 of 4 lanes closed
10. 03:23 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min (reported again)
11. 03:23 National Highways: 2 of 4 lanes closed
12. 03:28 TomTom no longer reports it
13. 03:31 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION [HCA0]”
14. 03:39 National Highways: 2 of 4 lanes closed
15. 03:39 National Highways: 1 of 4 lanes closed
16. 04:20 National Highways: 2 of 4 lanes closed (was 1)
17. 04:24 National Highways: lane closure lifted
18. 04:31 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION”
19. 04:31 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J25 and J26).
• Slow traffic
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION [HCA0]” (6 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J25 and J26).
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION” (4 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J25 and J26).
• M6 northbound between J25 and J26

Other recent incidents on the M6

• M6 stopped traffic J5–J605:28 · cleared after 1 h 45 min
• M6 crash J6 northbound00:46 · cleared after 44 min
• M6 crash J28–J29 northboundyesterday 17:28 · cleared after 1 h 31 min
• M6 reported crash J29 northboundyesterday 17:18 · cleared after 41 min
• M6 crash J19–J18 southboundyesterday 16:39 · cleared after 2 h 50 min
• M6 crash J3–J3A northboundyesterday 16:20 · cleared after 2 h 32 min
• M6 crash J18–J19 northboundyesterday 15:13 · cleared after 2 h 15 min
• M6 crash J2 northboundyesterday 15:04 · cleared after 58 min
• M6 stopped traffic J21 southboundyesterday 14:29 · cleared after 5 h
• M6 crash J21A southboundyesterday 13:13 · cleared after 1 h 45 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.