Fire crews tackle large vehicle fire on M6

A section of the M6 was closed as fire crews from four stations tackled a vehicle fire.

Firefighters from Carlise, Longtown and Wigton in Cumbria and Gretna in Scotland were called to the blaze near Todhills Services in Cumbria at about 18:00 BST on Friday.

A car transporter carrying nine vehicles including an electric vehicle was "well alight", Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said.

The southbound carriageway was closed for three hours while crews brought the fire under control, with the driver of the transporter left "shaken" but unhurt, the service added.

Group manager Scott Cameron said the it was "quite significant."

"The initial crews could feel the heat from inside the fire engine as they drove past it on the opposite carriageway," he said.

"Fires on motorways are quite challenging because they don't generally have traditional hydrant systems alongside them, so water supplies can be an issue."

He continued: "It sometimes takes a lot longer to extinguish a fire because we have to bring water from different fire engines, normally from hydrants miles away.

"In this case, the crews went back down to Junction 44, filled up and came back up."

The road has since reopened.

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