M5 standstill clears near Bristol after multi-vehicle crash

A 75-minute standstill on the M5 northbound near Bristol came to an end on Saturday afternoon after a multi-vehicle crash brought traffic to a halt. The incident, which occurred near Portishead at junction 19, left six miles of congestion on the approach to the junction.

Traffic monitoring service Inrix first reported the crash at 12.12pm, stating that all traffic was being temporarily held due to the multi-vehicle accident on the M5 northbound at junction 19, where the A369 Martcombe Road meets the motorway. By 12.40pm, National Highways confirmed that delays had reached 75 minutes with six miles of congestion building up on the approach.

Witness accounts painted a picture of severe disruption. One person described the situation, saying the M5 north was at a standstill just before junction 19, with police cars and ambulances having just passed. Another witness added that no one was likely to move for a while. Traffic cameras showed queues building across all three lanes of the motorway as the situation developed.

BristolLive understands that a caravan was involved in the collision. The exact circumstances of how the multi-vehicle crash occurred were not detailed in official reports, though the involvement of the caravan suggested the incident may have involved vehicles of varying sizes attempting to navigate the busy Saturday traffic.

The situation gradually improved over the course of the afternoon. Just after 2pm, Inrix reported that the M5 delays had cleared and traffic was returning to normal conditions. The roads and traffic monitoring site confirmed that all lanes on the M5 northbound at junction 19 had been cleared, allowing the backed-up traffic to resume its journey.