Pictured: Sports car bursts into flames on M6 Toll
This was the dramatic moment a sports car burst into flames on the hard shoulder of the M6 Toll in Staffordshire this afternoon.
Fire crews from Lichfield and Chase Terrace were called out to the motorway southbound near junction five for Shenstone.
The red Mazda MX-5 was well alight when firefighters arrived at the scene at around 12.40pm yesterday.
One lane of the toll road had to be closed while crews tackled the blaze. The driver is believed to have been unhurt.
Staffordshire Police spokeswoman Jane Hoult said: "We received a call just before 12.45pm to reports of a car on fire on the southbound side. The incident was dealt with by the fire and rescue service."
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman Stephanie Griffiths added: "The call was received at 12.40pm. Crews from Lichfield and Chase Terrace dealt with the fire.
"One saloon vehicle was well alight. One lane of the motorway had to be closed while the fire was dealt with."
The Highways Agency also attended the scene and one lane of the road was closed for a short time.
Spokeswoman Pragati Baddhan said: "We did attend to ensure the safety of the driver. The car was on fire in the hard shoulder. There was very little traffic on the road at the time so there was not much disruption to other drivers.
"Lane one was closed for a short time." Midland Expressway Ltd, who own the toll road, recovered the car, she added.
An average of 45,473 vehicles used the road daily from July to September this year – up by 2.27 per cent compared to 44,462 compared to last year.
Weekend usage has shown the biggest surge and bosses today said they were delighted with the overall increase.
