Jazz band entertain drivers stuck on Britain's gridlocked motorways

Now that really is a traffic JAM! Jazz band entertain drivers stuck for hours on Britain’s gridlocked motorways while others get the table football out

• Motorists remained in traffic jams on the M6 in Preston, Lancashire yesterday
• But they had entertainment at the ready with a jazz band playing instruments
• People got out of their vehicles dancing and clapping while others played games

This is the amusing moment a jazz band made the motorway their stage during a huge traffic jam, much to the entertainment of fed-up motorists.

Drivers experienced hours of mayhem waiting on the motorway yesterday after a lorry caught fire on a stretch of the M6 and M55 in Preston, Lancashire in the early hours of Friday morning.

The M6 Southbound at Junction 32 was closed for a number of hours by emergency services as a result. 

Another incident involving a pedestrian on the network was reported, closing the M6 in both directions at Junction 31, M55 Broughton Interchange, to Junction 33, A6 on Preston Lancaster Road – adding even more hours of delays for those stuck in vehicles.

Cars were completely halted on the usually busy three-lane motorway following a massive lorry blaze, leading to huge tailbacks as fire crews performed a ‘complex recovery operation’. 

But motorists heading northbound didn’t have it so bad – as they were kept entertained by a live jazz band.

Passengers and drivers were seen away from their standstill vehicles clapping and dancing in footage shared on social media.

This is the amusing moment a jazz band made the motorway their stage during a huge traffic jam, much to the entertainment of fed-up motorists on the M6

Drivers experienced hours of mayhem waiting on the motorway yesterday after a lorry caught fire on a stretch of the M6 and M55 in Preston, Lancashire in the early hours of Friday morning. But motorists heading northbound were kept entertained by a live jazz band

The hours of gridlock traffic also encouraged others on the M6 to step outside their cars and lorries and share other ways of keeping busy while stuck on the concrete, with one group spotted playing table football between junction 31A and 33.

Despite the two incidents reported on the M6, trains cancelled across the UK this weekend has led to more motorways experiencing disruption.

The AA said the M4/M5 interchange west of Bristol is ‘growing with traffic’, while there were more cars on the road on the M5 heading south to Exeter.

Writing yesterday, a spokesperson for National Highways agency confirmed the reason for blockage, which was finally cleared at around 8.30pm.

They said on Twitter: ‘There’s a 2-hour delay on the M6 between J33-J31a, and also a 1 hour delay on M55 east between J3 and M6.’

‘This is to allow a complex recovery operation to take place.’

Several incidents have meant congestion is building throughout the country including; the M25/M11 interchange, M1 Northampton, M8 and Queensferry Crossing into Edinburgh, motorways surrounding Leeds and Bradford and the M42 east of Birmingham.

Rail services have been severely disrupted today and will continue to be into Sunday morning due to the latest outbreak of industrial unrest – with members of the drivers’ union Aslef at seven train operators walking out for 24 hours over pay.

The strike is by drivers for Arriva Rail London, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains – during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and as the English Football League starts.

The hours of gridlock traffic also encouraged others on the M6 to step outside their cars and lorries and share other ways of keeping busy while stuck on the concrete, with one group spotted playing table football between junction 31A and 33

No Southeastern or London Overground trains will run – the latter being due to the Arriva walkout – while there will also be no service on London Northwestern or Heathrow Express, even though neither are involved in the dispute.

Only 10 per cent of Greater Anglia services will run – including just one Stansted Express per hour – while most of the Great Western Railway network will be shut, and the few routes running will have a severely reduced service.

The LNER timetable will be extremely limited, with one train every two hours between London and York; one train every two hours between York and Edinburgh; and one train in each direction between London and Leeds all day.

Elsewhere, West Midlands Trains will not operate other than a special shuttle between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International – while on Hull Trains, only one service will run from Hull to and from London all day.

Rail services have been severely disrupted today and will continue to be into Sunday morning due to the latest outbreak of industrial unrest – with members of the drivers’ union Aslef at seven train operators walking out for 24 hours over pay, causing disruption on motorways

The AA warned of gridlock on major roads as the strikes force more people into vehicles on the second busiest weekend of the summer getaway. Drivers have face the worst delays between 11am and 3pm today.

It said roads heading towards the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone and Port of Dover had minimal delays by this afternoon, but the switchover for holiday lets was showing with disruption on routes towards southern England.

Slow-moving traffic was reported on the M4/M5 interchange near Bristol, M3 near Winchester and A303.

Traffic was also building on several sections of the M25 around London – and major disruption was seen on the M55/M6 junction and surrounding roads north of Preston following a lorry fire and the closure of the M6 earlier on.

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