THOUSANDS of vehicles were diverted through Kendal's streets this week after a lorry blew over during strong winds on the M6. Some commuters were caught up in major standstills on Wednesday morning as the town's streets filled with southbound vehicles directed off the motorway. Defending their decision to close the southbound carriageway, Cumbria Police said it had no choice but to divert cars, vans and lorries off at Shap and on to the A6. It followed a 20-tonne Mann Artic lorry overturning on the southbound carriageway of the M6 and straddling motorway lanes during severe gusts at 3.45am. The stricken lorry ended up on its side and gallons of diesel spilled across all three lanes between Junction 39 at Shap and Junction 38 at Tebay, said police spokesman Mike Head. He explained: "This meant all the traffic would have to go through Kendal and that was the only choice open to us. Closing the motorway is not something we do lightly. "Usually we can keep one or two lanes open but in this case it was not possible. The diesel was spilt right across the carriageway and if we had allowed vehicles through without clearing it, they would have been sliding everywhere and it would have made the situation much worse." The carriageway was finally opened at 9.10am. The 49-year-old lorry driver from Coventry and a female passenger were by treated by paramedics for minor injuries. The high winds on Wednesday led to the closure of the A66 over Stainmore to high-sided vehicles.

January 16, 2003 13:01