Van blaze causes M6 jams
Fire crews were called to a van on fire on the M6 at Preston.
The vehicle was reported on fire in the outside lane of the northbound carriageway between junction 31A and junction 32 for the M55 at lunchtime on Saturday.
Police were also called to the scene and northbound traffic backed up from the scene to the junction with the M65.
The driver of the vehicle was able to contact emergency services and inform them there were six propane gas canisters onboard.
The incident happened around noon on Saturday and the motorway was closed northbound while fire crews tackled the blaze.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used hose reels and foam to damp down the flames.
The driver of the van was checked over at the scene by paramedics
Two lanes of the motorway were closed for the remainder of the day while the burned out van was removed and repairs were made to the road.
The area remained congested for several hours after the fire with drivers warned not to use the hard shoulder.
Several vehicles were stopped by police trying to drive around the jams, having been caught on camera by the police helicopter.