One of the UK’s busiest motorways will be subject to overnight closures this week.

The M1 will be fully closed on one side with traffic directed into the hard shoulder, while both carriages will be narrowed down to just one lane between South and West Yorkshire.

Motorists planning to use the motorway are being warned in advance of the closures on Thursday night. Highways England are carrying out basic maintenance work which includes litter picking and grass cutting.

The northbound carriage will shut between junctions 35A and 36 in South Yorkshire in the Rotherham area from 9pm on Thursday, and will re-open at 6am the next morning. Motorists will still be able to use the hard shoulder.

Further north, the motorway will be reduced to just one lane between junctions 38 and 39 around Wakefield on both carriages from 10pm on Thursday.

The two lanes will re-open the next morning at 7am on the northbound side and 6am on the southbound carriage.