The M6 was closed in both directions this afternoon (September 25) due to a "concern for safety."

National Highways posted on X (formerly Twitter) just after 1pm saying the motorway was closed due to an incident being led by Lancashire Police.

Traffic was stopped in both directions between J27 (Standish) and J28 (Leyland) and long delays were formed on approach.

Vehicles were released in the southbound carriageway shortly after 1.15pm while northbound traffic continued to be held as large numbers of people had exited their vehicles and were standing in the road.

Traffic heading north was released a few minutes later, though delays were expected to remain in the area, with roughly an additional 20 minutes travelling against usual times.

Following the incident, Lancashire Police confirmed the incident was due to "a concern for safety", but did not provide any further details.