A huge queue of vehicles was brought to a complete standstill after a car caught fire in the middle of a motorway this afternoon.
A car was engulfed in flames as it got to the hard shoulder on the westbound M4, between junction 14 to Hungerford and junction 15 to Swindon, at around 3.30pm.
Fortunately the driver survived and there were no other casualties, Dorset and Wiltshire fire service told The Mirror.
Crews from Swindon and Newbury stations rushed to the scene to fight the blaze, using two pumps and a hose reel.
Out of three lanes on the M4, two of them had to be blocked off while the fire was dealt with.
This backed up traffic severely for hours afterwards. Striking photographs show the M4 flooded with more than a mile’s worth of traffic, completely halted, while smoke creates a thick cloud in the background.
People can be seen standing next to their cars after waiting inside them for ages.
Firefighters left just after 5pm but it would have taken a good while before traffic evened out agian.
Around a similar time, a giant sinkhole, about six inches deep and a foot long, opened up on the M5.
Several cars were damaged and two lanes were closed – causing traffic chaos there too.
People using the motorways were advised to ‘allow extra time for their journeys’.
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