DRIVERS are facing long delays as emergency services tackle a lorry fire on the M6 north of Knutsford this morning.

They were called to the scene close to the entry slip road at junction 20 at Lymm at around 7am.

Traffic is stopped northbound and the lorry is now on the hard shoulder.

Two fire engines from Warrington and one from Stockton Heath are currently at the scenes as firefighters fight the flames.

Smoke is travelling over to the southbound carriageway and motorists are urged to take care.

Officials are warning drivers to expect long delays heading towards junction 21 at Woolston.

Police say junction 20 is still closed northbound and will be 'for some time'.

They say they are working to get traffic moving but are advising motorists to avoid the area.

Delays are already stretching back to junction 18 at Holmes Chapel/Middlewich.

UPDATED 10.06am:  

Fire crews are continuing to damp down the lorry.

Lanes 2, 3 and 4 are now open but lane 1, the slip road and hard shoulder remain closed.

UPDATED 11.15am: 

The westbound link road from the M56 to the M6 northbound remains closed at the current time.

Cheshire Fire say as a result of the fire part of the carriageway may need to be resurfaced; further details will be released when available.

UPDATED 11.35am: 

A recovery crew is preparing to remove the lorry to enable all lanes to be reopened. 

A spokesman added: "Firefighters are continuing to damp down throughout the recovery process."

UPDATED 12.06pm: REPAIR WORK LIKELY TO LAST INTO THE AFTERNOON

Drivers are being advised emergency repair work along the northbound M6 near Lymm is likely to last into this afternoon.

Emergency resurfacing work will take place in the hard shoulder along the northbound entry slip road just before it joins the main northbound carriageway south of Thelwall Viaduct.   

Lane 1 of the main northbound carriageway remains closed along with the entry slip road onto the northbound carriageway at junction 20.

A section of safety barrier and a lamp post have also been damaged in the fire.

Highways England operations manager Darron Daulby said: “The fire was so severe with smoke blowing across the carriageway that at one point we had to close the northbound carriageway, a lane on the southbound carriageway and the link roads from the M56 at Lymm Interchange.   

"We’d like to thank drivers across the area for their patience while the fire service dealt with the incident.

"Lymm interchange is now fully-open and all but one lane along the northbound carriageway has re-opened but there is likely to be severe congestion in the area - along the local road network as well as the motorway - throughout the morning and into this afternoon as we work to remove the vehicle and carry out these emergency repairs.”

Highways England traffic officers from the outstations at Knutsford and Newton-le-Willows have been at the scene throughout the morning helping to manage traffic. 

While the emergency repairs are taking place, drivers are advised to delay journeys or seek an alternative route if they wish to avoid associated congestion.

UPDATED 5PM: M6 fully reopened

About 30 metres of the hard shoulder and slip road lanes were damaged in the fire.  

The slip road and lane 1 of the main carriageway reopened at 4pm following the emergency resurfacing and work to make a damaged safety barrier and lamp post safe.