National Highways is advising drivers to plan in advance and allow a little extra time for their journeys ahead of four overnight closures of the M5 between Gordano and Weston-super-Mare next week.

The M5 will be fully closed both southbound and northbound between junctions 19 and 21, from 10pm to 6am on Monday, 23 October, Tuesday, 24 October, Wednesday, 25 October and Thursday, 26 October.

The closures will be in place to enable resurfacing along sections of both carriageways, and under the closure, essential survey work will also take place to inform design work for a bridge refurbishment scheme programmed near junction 21 next year.

Under the night closures, southbound HGV traffic will be diverted via the A4 and A370 from junction 18 to rejoin the M5 at junction 21, with the northbound diversion route operating in reverse.

Cars and other lighter vehicles will be diverted via junctions 19 and 21, using the A369 and A370 during the closures, and local traffic will still be able to make journeys across the junctions.

For the four nights, Bristol City Council will be removing its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) charge for the signed diversion routes along the A4, Portway and Brunel Way. Zone charges will not be applied when the signed diversion route is followed, although CAZ charges will apply on all other roads within Bristol's Clean Air Zone, where vehicles don't meet the zone's emission standards.

Heather Lang, National Highways' Head of Scheme Delivery for the South West, said: "We appreciate roadworks can be frustrating but we're keeping the closures to an absolute minimum and when traffic flows will be at their lowest, and we've been liaising with Bristol City Council to ensure CAZ exemptions along the diversion route.

"We need to employ the full overnight closures in order to carry out both pieces of work along this section, and we have communicated the work to businesses and local communities.

"We advise people to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys, and in the meantime we thank all drivers in advance for their co-operation and patience while we carry out these essential works."