Drivers were stranded for hours on the M6 after a HGV spilt offal on Friday afternoon.
Warnings that there were would be long delays on the motorway, northbound between Junction 39 for Shap and Junction 40 for Penrith, were issued by National Highways on Friday at around 1.30pm.
Two lanes were closed as the spillage was cleared. A single lane reopened at around 6pm and the lanes did not fully reopen until around 3.45am this morning.
National Highways said in a tweet initially that there were around six miles of congestion, with delays of over an hour likely.
But drivers found themselves stuck for over two hours in tailbacks.
At around 5.30pm yesterday, a Penrith resident who was travelling home from Kendal said he had joined the queue at Shap at around 3.20pm.
He said conditions were really uncomfortable, with motorists overheating in their cars as the sun shone and spilling out on to the carriageway.
At around 5.25pm he reported that traffic had started to move a few feet at a time and he was hopeful that the lorry load of meat which had been shed and shut the motorway had been cleared.
The knock-on effect of the jam have been felt across the area, with heavy traffic reported in Penrith and outlying areas.
