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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Jamie Lopez & Elaine Blackburne

Live music and table football transform M6 traffic gridlock into party

Sitting on a motorway in standstill traffic is rarely fun. But those stuck on the M6 on Friday were determined to make the most of the occasion.

For the lack of movement on the roads was quickly made up for by plenty of movement from those in their vehicles. And before long people were out of their cars being entertained by live music, dancing and even a game of table football, reports Lancs Live.

The unusual scenes played out after travellers were facing hours of delays following two separate incidents on the motorway in Preston. And the entertaining activities were captured on camera as onlookers filmed on their phones and other devices.

It was not just one group of motorists and their passengers who made the most of the delay. For while at one spot people were entertained by a live band while along the road a table football game was erected in the middle of the carriageway.

The activities were captured as motorists faced delay of two hours over a nine mine stretch of the motorway. Problems first arose on the motorway at 6am when a lorry fire held up traffic before a full closure was put in place half an hour later between J32 and J31A southbound. Six fire engines were sent to the scene and the efforts to tackle and blaze and remove the vehicle went on for several hours.

Even when traffic was released, the miles of backlog meant that long delays continued to be a problem and those hours of delays were later added to after a police incident closed the M6 in both directions at J31 M55 (Broughton Interchange) to J33 A6 Preston Lancaster Road (Lancaster South/Garstang).

National Highways North West said that the major roadblock was due to a Lancashire Police-led incident that involved a pedestrian on the network. LancsLive contacted Lancashire Police for further information but did not receive a response by the time of writing.

Queuing traffic quickly grew and congestion to the A6 through Garstang built as traffic made attempts to divert from the chaos. Those stuck in the temporary hold told LancsLive it was "really bad" with both drivers and passengers pictured getting out of the vehicles in the standstill.

Traffic was eventually released in both directions around 12 hours after the first incident started but delays persisted through the evening. Repair work to a barrier was only completed in the early hours of Saturday morning.

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea

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