M4 drivers face delays after serious crash between car and lorry

An issue with air traffic control this morning caused major disruption at a key German airport, Cologne Bonn.

The airport confirmed on X that the IT glitch has been resolved, with flights ‘largely stabilised, but there may still be delays throughout the day’.

A person who was struck by a train at Grantham just before 10am has died, police said.

‘The incident is not thought to be suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner,’ transport police said.

LNER services have also been impacted after someone was struck by a train. The operator confirmed this took place at Grantham.

‘Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed,’ it said. ‘Disruption is currently expected until 1pm.’

LNER said several trains to London’s King’s Cross have been cancelled or are terminating early, with the operator suggesting some alternative routes as well as replacement bus services being sorted:

East Midlands Railway has just now said that a person was hit by a train between Nottingham and Peterborough.

The train operating company didn’t give any further details on the condition of the person, but confirmed several routes had been disrupted.

A car that became a fireball along the M6 yesterday was quite the sight.

The blaze erupted just after 9.10am between Junctions 13 and 14.

But the police say that as officials treated the ‘accidental’ fire, some motorists ‘couldn’t resist’ getting their cameras out.

‘Our vigilant officers noticed two drivers who couldn’t resist filming the scene whilst driving past. Both drivers reported and can expect a letter in the post soon,’ the force said. After all, using a phone while driving can land someone with six points on their licence and a £200 fine.

All lanes closed this morning following a five-vehicle crash near Bristol on the M4 have now reopened, according to the monitoring service Inrix.

One lane had been closed most of this morning on the westbound carriageway between junction 19 (Bristol) and junction 20 (Almondsbury Interchange).

‘All lanes open, accident cleared on M4 Westbound from J19 M32 (Bristol) to J20 M5 J15 (Almondsbury Interchange),’ Inrix said, BristolLive reported.

All aboard ‘Ctrl Alt De-leaf’! Well, maybe.

This is one of four possible names for Network Rail’s leaf-busting trains, which trundle along the tracks to get rid of delay-causing leaf mulch.

The national rail operator has put it up to the public to decide on the name for these trains, announcing the final shortlist yesterday.

People can vote for Ctrl Alt De-leaf, Leaf-Fall Weapon, Pulp Friction or The Autumn Avenger.

Voting closes next Friday and is just a simple tickbox.

Sadly, not all of the 1,300 submitted names made the cut, including: ‘Britney Clears’, ‘Buster Grimes’, ‘Don’t Stop De-Leafing’, and ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Anti-Leaf Machiney’.

‘Who needs Leafy McLeafFace when we have this shortlist of terrific – and really quite fitting – names to bestow upon one of these legendary leaf-busting behemoths,’ said railway author Tim Dunn.

‘I knew Britain wouldn’t let us down: entries ranged from the witty, clever and even touching – through to utterly shameless Dad-grade puns.’

More flights to and from Middle East airports are being cancelled as the tension between Iran and Israel grows – and the latter continues to bomb and invade southern Lebanon.

Dubai-based airline Emirates said it was halting all services to and from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran (Tehran) and Jordan (Amman) today and tomorrow.

‘Customers transiting through Dubai with final destinations in Iraq, Iran and Jordan will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin until further notice,’ the airline said on its website.

‘We continue to closely monitor the situation in the region and are in contact with the relevant authorities regarding developments.’

Flydubai has also cancelled flights between the UK and the UAE, while Qatar Airways is diverting flights.

An IT issue is causing disruption at Germany’s Cologne Bonn Airport, with travellers set to fly from or to it urged to ‘contact their airline or tour operator to find out about their flight status’, the airport said on X.

People can travel to Germany’s fourth-largest city via London Heathrow, Edinburgh and Manchester.

A crash this morning involving five vehicles is causing huge delays on the M4 near Bristol on top of another collision between a lorry and a car.

The second collision happened on the westbound carriageway between junction 19 for the M32 and junction 20 for the M5.

One lane is now closed as emergency services are at the scene, with traffic queuing back to the M32 which in turn is queuing back to junction one for Hambrook.

A lane was closed for more than two hours on the M4 after a fire broke out on the Prince of Wales Bridge just before 6am.

‘One lane closed and slow traffic due to vehicle fire on M4 westbound from J21 M48 to J22 M49 (Prince of Wales Bridge),’ the traffic monitoring website Inrix said.

Thankfully, all lanes were opened by just after 8.30am. There is, however, some light traffic still on the bridge due to construction works.

The Princes of Wales Bridge, also known as the Second Severn Crossing, stretches over the River Severn between England and Wales.

Ryanair will soon be making a massive change to how passengers check-in – and it’s bad news for anyone without a smartphone.

More than one in 10 Britons don’t own a smartphone, according to uSwitch. Owning the device can be challenging for some low-income households, while some see the tech as too complicated.

But Ryanair has announced that from May, all passengers will be required to check-in for flights using its online app.

Speaking at a Dublin press conference yesterday, CEO Michael O’Leary said: ‘We want to get rid of airport checks in the same way we got rid of bag [desks]. We are working towards from May 1 that everything will be done on the app, nothing will be done on paper anymore.’

Would it be a morning without some delays on the London Underground?

TfL says that the Central, District and Hammersmith and City lines are all seeing minor delays due to train cancellations and fault trains.

The delays are being felt between Leytonstone and Hainault via Newbury Park on the Central line, along Earl’s Court to Edgware Road on the District and all of the Hammersmith and City line.

Drivers hitting the M25 have been warned to avoid an unwanted penalty charge under London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) over the next few weekends.

Since last summer, officials have been restoring heathland near junction 10 and upgrading the road with the A3 Wisley Interchange.

While this is good news for motorists – and the local wildlife – in the long-term, in the short-term, it means drivers will have to navigate roadworks, which National Highways explains here.

Drivers won’t be able to use slip roads to join or leave either the M25 or the A3 across the weekends of October 4, October 18 and November 1.

Two of the seven diversion routes will take motorists into the Greater London area, which is subject to an ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), which imposes a daily charge of £12.50 on the heaviest-polluting vehicles.

If drivers don’t pay, there’s a £180 fine, cut to £90 if paid within two weeks.

Thankfully, a loophole does mean that those diverted into the zone via the M25 don’t have to cough up, but only if they stick to the official diversion route – so drivers are urged not to stray.

Wizz Air passengers weren’t exactly pleased, to say the least when a technical hiccup caused their flights to be suddenly cancelled.

Kind of. People logging into the online booking system for the ‘ultra-low-cost airline’, as the company describes itself, found that their flight time had been changed yesterday evening. Some were cancelled altogether.

‘I had two of my flights showing as cancelled giving the option to rebook or refund.,’ said one traveller on X.

‘Since rebooking option didn’t work I booked another more expensive flight with British Airways for 22 October. I’ll ask for a full refund for both of the flights showing as cancelled!”

Wizz Air advised people to simply ignore whatever the booking system was telling them as engineers repaired the technical fault.

‘Dear customers, we are experiencing a technical issue affecting our booking system,’ a statement shared on X said.

‘As a result, you may notice changes to your booking on the app or website or receive related notifications. Please disregard these changes, and rest assured that we will update you as soon as the issue is resolved.

‘Our team works diligently to fix the problem and restore the affected flights. Thank you for your understanding and patience, Wizz Air.’

A broken down train near Uphall, a village in West Lothian, could lead to disruption for Scottish rail travellers this morning.

ScotRail has said the incident may result in services travelling from Edinburgh to Helensburgh on the west coast via Airdrie being cancelled, delayed or revised.

National Highways has said the westbound section of the M4 between Hungerford and Swindon in Wiltshire remains closed.

However, the reopening process appears to have moved on from police investigation to recovery, with the fuel spillage getting cleared up.

The A404 southbound near Handy Cross in Buckinghamshire has been closed due to a crash involving multiple vehicles.

Thames Valley Police described it as a ‘serious injury’ incident on its X account.

Officers ‘envisage the road to remain closed for most of the morning’, the post said.

The affected section runs between the M40 and A4155, with drivers told to expect delays.

National Highways has suggested the following diversion:

• From the M40 southbound, leave at the Junction 4 interchange.
• At the roundabout, use the sixth exit and join Wycombe Road.
• Continue for approximately two miles to a T junction with Wiltshire Road.
• Merge with Wiltshire Road and continue to the A4155 roundabout.
• Use the first exit and join the A4155 Little Marlow Road.
• Continue over the next roundabout and follow to the A404 Marlow Interchange.
• At the roundabout, use the third exit to rejoin the A404 southbound.