A woman has described the surreal moment she was able to pick flowers from the side of a motorway while stuck in an hour-long queue.
The M5 was closed in both directions and traffic was brought to a complete standstill after a pole caught fire, causing a '30,000 volt' cable to crash onto the road.
Firefighters, highways officers and workers from Western Power Distribution attended the scene between J22 (Burnham-on-Sea) and J23 (Bridgwater) at around 6.45pm on Wednesday. The route remained shut overnight.
Bridgwater resident, Alice Bloodworth, told Somerset Live she was stationary for an hour.
She said: "We were stuck on the M5 when the electrical pole just went down.
"We met a lovely lady in the car in front, it was her birthday and we felt bad she was stuck in the traffic jam.
"It was fun being on the motorway when it was empty and we picked some flowers and listened to music.
"We were stuck for about an hour and then were turned around to drive back to Junction 23.
"We were turned around on the motorway so we drove down the right side the wrong way which was strange but definitely an experience."
A spokesman for WPD said 10,546 properties had their electricity supply disconnected.
He said: "10,545 customers were immediately restored via an alternative circuit. One customer remains off supply while repairs are being undertaken.
"Our staff on site have confirmed that the top of the pole had caught on fire, eventually burning through causing the overhead conductors to clash together. The wires were left hanging low over the motorway.
"The motorway will be closed for a period whilst repairs are being made. This could be up to a period of six hours, but our staff are working their very best to ensure this time is kept to an absolute minimum.
"Apologies for any disruption this may cause."
He added the pole fire could have been caused by a previous lightning storm.
"It is likely the pole was struck and an insulator damaged.
"This could cause a small amount of electricity to track down the pole, heating it up and eventually catching fire," he said.
