M49 vehicle fire: Van destroyed in blaze near Bristol

Pictures from the scene show the burnt out shell of the van and smoke billowing

Pictures from the scene show the burnt out shell of the van and smoke billowing into the sky over the motorway

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A van has been destroyed by a fire which broke out on a busy stretch of motorway near Bristol. Emergency services rushed to the scene on the southbound M49 at around 5pm today (May 19).

Traffic on the motorway was stopped between junction one and the junction for the M5. Firefighters battled the flames before motorists were eventually allowed to head off.

Pictures taken by passing motorists show a van pulled over on the hard shoulder of the motorway. One image shows the vehicle was destroyed by the flames, leaving just the charred shell behind.

Read more: Van fire brings motorway traffic to a halt

Other pictures taken at the scene using a drone show smoke billowing up high into the sky above motorists while firefighters tackle the blaze. Long queues of traffic behind the fire engines can also be seen.

One motorist who was stuck in the queues said traffic was held for about an hour while the incident was dealt with. Traffic monitoring website Inrix said the motorway was reopened at around 5.25pm.

Delays remained for a while after traffic was released. It was not until around 6.10pm that Inrix reported traffic had eased.

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M49 vehicle fire: Van destroyed in blaze near Bristol