Motoring association The AA has shed light on what could be behind an influx of traffic incidents on a major motorway running through Buckinghamshire last week.

Drivers on the M40 were forced to get out of their cars and stand around in “stock-still” traffic numerous times between Sunday, August 18 and Saturday, August 24 – with four incidents on the stretch near Buckinghamshire repeatedly disrupting travel plans.

First, a crash “badly damaged” the central reservation of the motorway between Oxford and Rickmansworth on the evening of August 18, leaving Frances Schofield and others stranded for over an hour.

Motorists then faced similar wait times on Tuesday, August 20, after a van and lorry collided between Stokenchurch and Wycombe, and queues tailed back for around five miles on Friday, August 23, after a car burst into flames near Banbury on Friday, August 23.

The week of incidents ended with two separate multi-vehicle crashes on the southbound section of the M40 near Stokenchurch, with lane closures not lifted until two hours after they were put in place.

A spokesperson for motoring association The AA, which provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover and more to drivers across the country, said it was ‘hard’ to pin down the reason for the close succession of disruptions – except for their overlap with the school summer holiday period.

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Luke Bosdet, from the association’s public affairs team, said: “It would be hard to link together the incidents other than them happening when the motorway would have been busy with holiday traffic. That would have made any hold-ups worse.

“I would (also) be tempted to look at whether any of the incidents happened during the bad weather on Saturday.”

He added that the number of car fires attended by emergency service teams has actually dropped in the last four years, but often take longer to resolve than other incidents when they do occur.

“When (a car fire) happens on the road, it not only grabs attention but takes longer to deal with and clear up. A fire-damaged road may need repairing.”

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.