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| M1 reopens after explosion fears | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Traffic is flowing again on the M1 after the motorway was shut in an explosion scare which led to massive tailbacks in Northants. | |
| The motorway was closed for three hours after a van carrying a 12kg propane gas cylinder caught fire on the hard shoulder of the northbound carriageway. | |
| Three fire crews used water to douse the fire and cool the cylinder, amid fears it could explode. | |
| The stretch of motorway, near Watford Gap services, reopened after 1700 BST. | |
| But the incident sparked heavy congestion in nearby roads, especially at the A45/A5 Weedon crossroads and also in the area of Whilton. Roads in Northampton were also choked. | |
| One man contacted the BBC by e-mail to say: "Mayhem! Gridlocked completely in and around Daventry as people get on to the A5 or come through the town to join the A45 instead of staying on the M1. | |
| "It is always the same when the motorway is blocked. Some local people can't get home - even though it is only 2/3 miles up the road to a village." | |
| The M45 at its approach to the M1 remained closed as fire crews clean the road. | |
| All trains running along the West coast mainline had been stopped but services have now been resumed. | All trains running along the West coast mainline had been stopped but services have now been resumed. |
| Virgin Trains spokesman David Ewart said: "We had to divert all train services via Northampton from 1430 with delays of about 30 minutes. Normal services had resumed by 1600." | |
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