Drivers on the M40 in Buckinghamshire faced long waits and heavy traffic not once, not twice but four times last week after a rapid series of incidents meant numerous lane closures and delays.

Frances Schofield, who was stuck in traffic on the M40 between Oxford and Rickmansworth on Sunday, August 18, said she and fellow travellers got out of their cars and walked around after becoming stuck in “completely standstill traffic” when an accident “badly damaged” the central reservation of the motorway.

(Image: Frances Schofield)

Motorists were also left waiting for around an hour on Tuesday morning, August 20, after a crash between a van and lorry on the stretch from Stokenchurch to High Wycombe, with queues tailing back nearly five miles.

A car then burst into flames on the motorway between Cherwell Valley Services and Banbury on Friday, August 23, causing delays of over an hour while emergency services worked to extinguish the fire.

(Image: Public Submission)

And a section of the southbound M40 was also closed on Saturday evening, August 24, after two separate multi-vehicle crashes between Stokenchurch and Wycombe, with regular service not resuming until around two hours after the closure was put in place.

Photos from the incidents show drivers standing around near their vehicles late on Sunday night, August 18, waiting for the traffic to clear – as well as a glimpse of Friday’s car fire, showing the vehicle engulfed in flames.

(Image: Frances Schofield)

The RAC and AA have been contacted for comment.