The M5 was at a standstill this afternoon after a van burst into flames.

Weston Mercury: crews from Burnham raced to extinguish a van which had caught light on the M5. Picture: Burnham-on-Sea Fire Stationcrews from Burnham raced to extinguish a van which had caught light on the M5. Picture: Burnham-on-Sea Fire Station (Image: Burnham-on-Sea Fire Station)

All lanes of the M5 Northbound between junction 22 to Edithmead and junction 21 to Weston were closed while firefighters tackled the blaze.

Two crews from burnham arrived on the scene just after 1pm to find the van well alight.

They set to work extinguishing the fire using a compressed foam jet while wearing breathing aparatus.

Approximately 50 per cent of the van was destroyed in the fire, which investigators believe was accidental.

Traffic was backed up to Sedgemoor Services and there are delays of approximately 24 minutes with vehicles crawling along at an average speed of 5mph.

The road was re-opened just before 2pm and traffic returned to normal

This weekend is expected to be an especially busy one on the nation's roads, as millions of people head home for Christmas.