At least six people died and a further eight were seriously hurt last night in a "horrific" motorway pile-up involving 26 cars and lorries in wet and foggy conditions.

Four people had to be cut out of the wreckage on the M5 and four vehicles, two of them lorries, burst into flames and were still burning long after the emergency services reached the scene.

More than 50 people were hurt in the crash close to junction 25 of the northbound carriageway of the M5 near Taunton in Somerset, with 41 hospitalised. A further 13 were treated at the scene. The motorway has been closed to traffic between junctions 23 to 26 and is expected to remain shut in both directions until at least this evening.

Although official confirmation of the death toll had not been given, Avon and Somerset Police said: "It is believed that people have lost their lives."...

...Poor weather conditions have been cited as a likely factor in the crash, though the precise cause was being investigated.

What's the betting that a bunch of dickheads were driving too fast and too close to the vehicle in front?

What's the betting that a bunch of dickheads were driving too fast and too close to the vehicle in front?

What's the betting that a bunch of dickheads were driving too fast and too close to the vehicle in front?

Guessing they're going to have to completely resurface that section - with winter round the corner, this is going to roll on and on I suspect, unless they can patch it and accept it'll be rubbish until the spring.

There's no such thing as poor weather, only piss-poor driving.

What's the betting that a bunch of dickheads were driving too fast and too close to the vehicle in front?

There should only ever be two vehicles involved in an accident as a maximum. As you say, everyone else is too close and fast.

It's conceivable that one moving truck could take out an entire row of stationary vehicles, but I agree with the general idea that people really should drive in such a way that avoids piling into the back of other people...