A SEVERE lorry inferno that saw 44 tonnes of timber catch fire - and closed the M6 for almost a full day - caused extensive damage to the road, National Highways have said.

The lorry fire on the M6 motorway near Todhills on Thursday, July 14, saw a huge response from National Highways and other agencies, closing the northbound road for 20 hours while the debris was cleared and turning off the traffic lights at junction 44 resulting in gridlock.

Thousands of cars sat stationary on the M6 for several hours.

Explaining what they did and why to take action following the massive fire, a spokesperson from National Highways said: “This was a protracted incident due to the intensity of the fire due to it being 44 tonnes of timber, the time it took for it all to cool down and the extent of damage to the barrier and the carriageway.

“It was not a small repair, we had to resurface about 50 metres across all three lanes of the carriageway and the hard shoulder and install new road studs and white lines.

“The traffic lights at the junction were switched off to improve the flow of traffic from the M6 onto the diversion route, this is not unusual.

“We appreciate that the junction was inevitably very congested but otherwise the diversion route coped well, and traffic was kept moving.

“Our traffic officers work 24-7-365 and different patrols from different shifts were involved in the incident throughout and were deployed where they could best help, sometimes at the junction but at other times checking for breakdowns or welfare issues in the congestion along the motorway or providing intelligence on traffic and congestion.”

READ MORE: Lorry catches fire after serious crash on the M6

Gary Makar, National Highways service delivery manager, added: “National Highways traffic officers worked hard throughout this incident to manage traffic and the incident and diversion information was also publicised as widely as possible - on our own electronic signs, travel broadcaster bulletins and on Twitter.  

“Drivers have a role to play in checking traffic conditions before setting out on journeys and altering their plans if preferable.

“We welcome feedback from drivers.

“We work closely with partners like the police and fire and rescue services to routinely review our response to incidents to ensure we have worked as quickly as is safely possible to re-open carriageways and to identify areas for improvement.”

READ MORE: Fire crews and police called out to evening car crash