Lorry blaze on M42 brings motorway traffic to standstill
The M42 near Birmingham was brought to a standstill on Friday morning after a lorry caught fire.
The blaze started on the southbound carriageway near Shirley before 5am and caused gridlock during the morning rush hour.
Congestion stretched back to Junction 5 and the A41 Solihu11
The vehicle was on the hard shoulder of the southbound carriageway, near junction 3a, when it caught fire in the early hours.
The Highways Agency said the fire had been put out, but the lorry could not be cleared until it had cooled down.
It said the closure was expected to continue through the rush-hour period, and, while diversions were in place, drivers were being advised to avoid the area.
Nobody was injured in the blaze.
Recycling plant to burn for days
More than 70 firefighters are tackling the blaze over a seven-acre area at the Smurfit Kappa paper mill in the Nechells area of Birmingham.
The fire had started just after 10pm on Wednesday night.
Tens of thousands of tons of cardboard is expected to keep burning for days at the recycling plant.
There are 20 fire crews on the site and at one point overnight 100 firefighters were on the scene near the M6 motorway.
The site in Mount Street is a recycled packaging mill, according to the company website.
According to its website, Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading producers of paper-based packaging in the world, with more than 41,000 employees in 32 countries. It has its headquarters in Dublin.
Image courtesy of Belfast Telegraph
Springfield house fire: Woman dead and five injured
A woman has died and five other people have been injured.
The woman, believed to be in her 50s, was confirmed dead at the scene. A teenage girl “sustained approximately 70% burns”, the ambulance service said.
A 26-year-old woman suffered burns, while three other people were also treated for injuries.
Up to 25 firefighters tackled the blaze, the fire is out but Cateswell Road has been cordoned off and remains closed to traffic.
The teenager with 70% burns was sedated at the scene and taken by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Cateswell Road remains closed to traffic and the two houses either side were evacuated during the blaze.
An investigation into its cause is under way.
Image courtesy of BBC News
Fire destroys ex-Beatles and Stones gig venue in Kings Heath
Last week the site of a historic former Birmingham music venue which hosted The Beatles and Rolling Stones was destroyed in a fire.
The premises which was operating as a Cash Converters store, is on one of the main routes into Kings Heath city centre
The fire broke out at 5.00am and the police cordoned off Kings Heath High Street between Popular Road and Silver Street. Officers said they were treating it as suspicious. No-one was hurt.
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