TEN people have been hurt in a six-vehicle pile-up which has seen the M5 closed and traffic come to a standstill between Weston and Clevedon.

The accident - which occurred at around 4.40pm - has been rated a ‘serious’ incident by emergency services, and has caused mayhem on roads around the district.

Two people were taken immediately to hospital by ambulance, while eights others received treatment at the scene from paramedics and fire crews.

All three northbound lanes were closed in the immediate aftermath of the crash, while fire crews worked to clear wreckage and wash oil from the motorway surface.

One lane has since reopened, but queues - which begin at the accident site between junctions 21 and 22 and stretch back seven miles to Burnham - remain.

Latest estimates suggest motorists are facing delays of up to 90 minutes, with traffic from Weston being diverted onto the A370.

Eye witnesses have reported five ambulances, five police cars and four fire engines at the scene.

Southbound traffic is also experiencing delays of around 15 minutes, with queues caused by traffic slowing down to look at events on the opposite side.

People caught in the jam have taken to social media site Twitter to tell of the scale of the queues.

Jakob White said: “Stuck in the biggest jam on the m5, haven’t moved for 2 hours.”

And Tony Legge added: “Stuck in a jam m5 nbound between wsm and clevedon. Lots of blue lights passing on hard shoulder. Hope it’s not serious.”

The cause of the accident is not yet known, but the volume of traffic at the time of the accident was said to have been very high as commuters headed home for the weekend.