Traffic now easing
Traffic is now easing in the area after the road reopened.
There was heavy congestion on the M6 in Lancashire with the motorway shut in both directions.
Traffic alert service Inrix reports the motorway was closed at around 6pm due to a police incident. The closure was from junction 24 to junction 23.
The road has now reopened.
READ MORE: Blackpool mum watched on baby monitor as man tried to murder her toddler
At the time Inrix said: “M6 in both directions closed, long delays due to police incident from J24 A58 Liverpool Road (Ashton In Makerfield ) to J23 A580 East Lancashire Road (Haydock). Traffic was initially held at around 18:00.”
It is the latest in a busy day of incidents on the M6, with delays all afternoon due to collisions and road closures across the M6, M55, and M61.
In a tweet, a spokesperson for National Highways North West said: “The M6 is closed in both directions between J23 (Newton Le Willows) and J24 (Ashton In Makerfield) due to a police led incident.
“The North West Motorway Police are on scene. Delays of 30 minutes northbound and 20 minutes southbound on approach to the closures. More info to follow shortly.”
This is a live blog. For the latest updates on roads across Lancashire and the North West, scroll down.
READ MORE:
20:47Jonathon Manning
Traffic is now easing in the area after the road reopened.
19:37Jonathon Manning
All lanes have been reopened on the M6 between J24 and J23. However, long delays remain.
Inrix states:
Queueing traffic due to earlier police incident on M6 in both directions from J24 A58 Liverpool Road (Ashton In Makerfield) to J23 A580 East Lancashire Road (Haydock).
All lanes have been re-opened.
The motorway was closed for around one hour and twenty-five minutes
19:18Jonathon Manning
Get all the latest traffic news in your area.
19:02Tom Earnshaw
In Lancashire between junctions 32 and 31, normal traffic conditions aren’t expected until 8.45pm. The reason for this has been put down as ‘unexpected traffic’, National Highways says, with traffic also joining the M6 from the M55.
18:51Tom Earnshaw
Long delays continue on the M6 between Preston and Lancaster. Traffic on the southbound carriageway is crawling between junctions 33 and 32.
18:47Tom Earnshaw
Road users heading northbound are advised to follow the hollow diamond diversion symbol on road signs:
Road users heading southbound are advised to follow the solid circle diversion symbol on road signs:
18:42Tom Earnshaw
National Highways live traffic map is currently reporting the incident will not be clear until 8.15pm.
18:42Tom Earnshaw
The M6 in Greater Manchester is closed in both directions between J23 (Newton Le Willows) and J24 (Ashton In Makerfield) due to a Police led incident.
Emergency services including North West Motorway Police Group are in attendance. National Highways Traffic Officers are also on scene to assist with traffic management.
18:36Key Event
M6 in both directions closed, long delays due to police incident from J24 A58 Liverpool Road (Ashton In Makerfield ) to J23 A580 East Lancashire Road (Haydock). Traffic was initially held at around 18:00.
18:03Tom Earnshaw
National Highways is currently reporting almost stationary traffic on the eastbound M55. No reason for the situation has been disclosed, but it is reporting normal traffic conditions wont return until 8.45pm.
17:42Tom Earnshaw
M6 Southbound partially blocked, slow traffic due to accident near J39 B6261 (Shap). This is separate to the earlier delays to the earlier delays on the northbound carrigeway.
16:09Tom Earnshaw
Inrix says:
Two lanes closed and slow traffic due to broken down campervan on M6 Southbound from J19 A556 ( Knutsford ) to J18 A54 Middlewich Road (Middlewich / Holmes Chapel).
Meanwhile, here is the state of things at junction 29 and 30 on the northbound M6:
15:37Tom Earnshaw
There are delays on the southbound M6 from Charnock Richard services to the junction 26 interchange for the M58.
Delays on the northbound M6 now stretch from Charnock Richard services to junction 32 for the M55, with more delays north of junction 32 due to the A6 closure.
15:12Tom Earnshaw
Traffic monitoring system Inrix says:
A6 Preston Lancaster Road in both directions closed, heavy traffic due to accident from M6 J33 (Lancaster South / Garstang) to The The New Inn Pub.
14:57Tom Earnshaw
It’s very busy on Lancashire’s motorways at the moment. The below map shows the extent of the northbound delays approaching Preston on both the M6 and M61.
The below photo also shows delays on the M61 approaching the join with the M6:
14:12Tom Earnshaw
Lancashire Police says:
Please be aware of road traffic collision on the A6 Main Rd Galgate.
The road is closed from Jct 33 of the M6 heading onto the A6 towards Lancaster (motorists for Lancaster are advised to utilise Jct 34) the A6 is also closed southbound at Lancaster University towards Jct 33.
More on this incident here.
13:45Jon Macpherson
You can enter your postcode into the widget below to see the very latest traffic news on the M6, M61 and in your area
13:43Jon Macpherson
Here is the latest AA Traffic News map of the area showing the congestion: