IT was motorway misery for thousands on the eve of the Easter holiday.

Many drivers were caught up in long traffic jams yesterday afternoon because of a series of incidents on the M62.

No-one was injured but drivers were trapped in long queues as police and fire crews dealt with a crash, a car fire, an overturned caravan and debris in the road – all in the space of two hours.

Worst hit was the eastbound carriageway, with traffic jams stretching back miles between Junction 28 and Junction 23 at Outlane.

The first incident was shortly after 1pm when a caravan overturned at Junction 25 at Clifton.

Two adults and two children were in the car towing the van and got to safety on the hard shoulder. Two lanes were closed while the caravan was righted.

Ten minutes later, three cars collided in the outside lane near Junction 27 at Birstall. None of the drivers were hurt but jams built up back past Junction 26 at Chain Bar.

Twenty minutes later, on the westbound carriageway at Ainley Top, Highways Agency officers had to shut lanes to clear debris.

The final incident was at 2.40pm when a VW Polo caught fire near Junction 28.

The driver was unhurt as he steered on to the hard shoulder.

Fire crews shut one lane to help them tackle the blaze.