M1 delays after lorry fire

Drivers faced long delays on the M1 in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire after a lorry carrying chemicals caught fire.

Both carriageways of the motorway were shut after the lorry suffered a blow-out and caught fire between junctions 9 and 10, the Redbourn and Luton airport turns, on Tuesday morning.

The northbound carriageway reopened at about 1500 GMT after the fire was extinguished.

But the police expected the M1 to remain closed to southbound traffic until about 1800 GMT on Tuesday while an operation takes place to remove the lorry from the area.

The motorway was closed southbound between junctions 10 and 11.

The chemicals the lorry was carrying were not thought to be toxic.

No-one was hurt in the incident.