Video shows the dramatic moment a lorry was engulfed by flames on the M56 last night.
The driver made a miracle escape from the blazing HGV, which was destroyed after it caught fire between junctions 12 and 14 near Frodsham, Cheshire at just after 7.30pm yesterday.
Firefighters, police and paramedics all rushed to the scene which necessitated the closure of both sides of the motorway for several hours.
Three fire engines attended the incident after Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service 'received multiple reports of a fire involving a large goods vehicle on the hard shoulder of the M56'.
Video shows the dramatic moment a lorry was engulfed by flames on the M56 last night
The fire service issued an update at 10pm last night confirming the driver had escaped without serious injury
The burned out husk of the lorry after firefighters put out the fire last night
As crews attended, the fire service said: 'The fire is causing a significant amount of thick smoke and crews have requested that both carriageways be closed while they deal with the incident'.
Crews wore breathing apparatus and used hose reel water jets to tackle the blaze, which took around seven and a half hours.
The fire service issued an update at 10pm last night confirming the driver had escaped without serious injury.
A spokesperson said: 'The driver has been accounted for and is safe and well.'
The fired service said it believed the vehicle was carrying a quantity of top soil and cardboard waste.
A witness to the fire who filmed it travelling past told the Manchester Evening News that the blaze was 'scary'.
She said and the others in the vehicle felt the heat from inside the car as they drove by and it was like nothing she had ever seen before.
The westbound carriageway of the M56 reopened at around 2.30am today and one lane remained closed on the eastbound side this morning as the road was resurfaced.
Fire crews putting extinguishing a lorry fire in the M56 in Cheshire after it caught fire last night
The driver made a miracle escape from the blazing HGV, which was destroyed after it caught fire between junctions 12 and 14 near Frodsham, Cheshire at just after 7.30pm yesterday
A distant view of the burning lorry on the M56 last night in Cheshire
Fire crews believe the vehicle was carrying a quantity of top soil and cardboard waste
At 6.30 this morning, the fire service issued at update which said: 'By dragging the contents of the lorry onto the carriageway, crews were able to access the burning material and fully extinguish it.
'The vehicle was removed from the scene shortly before 03:00. We were in attendance for around seven and a half hours.
'This morning, one lane of the motorway eastbound remains closed to allow for resurfacing.'
All of the lanes on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 have now reopened.
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