Jams building on M1 after crash

Motorists have been warned to avoid the M1 in Northamptonshire after a crash on the southbound stretch of road.

Police closed both carriage ways between junctions 16 and 15a to allow an air ambulance to land following the crash at 1340 BST on Friday.

The road was due to reopen to northbound traffic after the air ambulance had left the accident site.

Police said the southbound stretch of the motorway would remain closed while the accident is cleared and the crash investigated.

Traffic was also beginning to build up on the southbound route and by 1500 BST jams were already stretching three miles.

Inspector George Cooper, of Northamptonshire Police, advised drivers to avoid the area especially as the Friday rush hour approached.

The accident is the second crash on the M1 in Northamptonshire since Tuesday when two people were killed and four others injured in a collision involving six lorries.