Neither half of the A45 has a hard shoulder. Around Northampton, Wellingborough and Rushden it is a dual carriageway with slip roads and retail parks; between Coventry and Birmingham it is an urban road lined with kerbs and junctions. Either way, leave at the next exit only if the car is still under control. Stuck? Hazards on, 999 first, then us.
Two lengths of the A45 matter here. The Northamptonshire stretch leaves M1 junction 16, crosses the south of Northampton as the Nene Valley Way past Sixfields and Brackmills, then runs on to Wellingborough, Rushden Lakes and the A14 at Thrapston. The West Midlands stretch starts at Tollbar End, crosses Coventry as the Fletchamstead Highway and passes the airport and the NEC; west of M42 J6 it runs to Digbeth on council roads. Same rule on both: only a kerb to the left.
If you can still control the car safely, leave at the next junction or pull into a services. If not, use the hard shoulder or an emergency area rather than a running lane, but never as a place to wait for a fitter: nobody can change a wheel there.
Put your hazards on. If it is safe, get everyone out on the passenger side and behind the barrier; if not, stay in with seatbelts on. Call 999 if you are in a live lane or in danger. Otherwise call the road operator (details below) and get moved to a place of safety. On a smart motorway use an emergency area and the orange SOS phone, and do not rejoin until the signals are set.
Once you are somewhere a van can park beside you, call 07473 720871 with the road, the direction, the nearest junction or marker post and the tyre size. We confirm the price and a realistic time before we set off.
The usual arrival band from our Brent Cross base; we confirm a real time when you call.
| Junction | Serves | Nearest safe stop | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 J16 (Northamptonshire A45) | M1, Upton, Northampton west, Daventry via the A45 west | Sixfields retail area a couple of miles east, or Upton's estate roads | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Sixfields (Northamptonshire A45) | Sixfields Stadium, Sixfields retail park, Weedon Road | Sixfields retail park car parks | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Queen Eleanor (Northamptonshire A45) | A508 Northampton centre and M1 J15, Delapre | Delapre or the town-centre car parks via the A508 | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Brackmills (Northamptonshire A45) | Brackmills industrial estate, Hardingstone | Brackmills estate roads | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Great Billing and Riverside (Northamptonshire A45) | Riverside retail park, Great Billing, Weston Favell | Riverside retail park at the junction | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Wilby Way (Northamptonshire A45) | A509 Wellingborough, Kettering, Wilby | Wellingborough town car parks or the retail park off the A509 | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Chowns Mill (Northamptonshire A45) | A6 Higham Ferrers, Rushden, Rushden Lakes, Bedford | Rushden Lakes shopping park beside the A45 | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Raunds (Northamptonshire A45) | Raunds, Stanwick, Ringstead | Raunds town centre | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| A14 J13, Thrapston (Northamptonshire A45) | A14, A605 Oundle, Thrapston | Thrapston high street | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
| Tollbar End (Coventry A45) | A46 Warwick and Leicester, Coventry Airport, Whitley | Continue into Coventry or the Whitley business park rather than stopping at the roundabout | A long run from London: allow 2 to 3 hours |
| Fletchamstead Highway and Kenilworth Road (Coventry A45) | A429 Kenilworth Road, Warwick University, Canley, Tile Hill | Cannon Park shopping centre car park or Canley side streets | A long run from London: allow 2 to 3 hours |
| Stonebridge Island (Solihull A45) | A452 Meriden, Balsall Common, Kenilworth | Meriden village or the hotel car parks around the island | A long run from London: allow 2 to 3 hours |
| Birmingham Airport and NEC (M42 J6, Solihull A45) | M42, Birmingham Airport, NEC, Birmingham International station | Airport short-stay parking or the NEC car parks | A long run from London: allow 2 to 3 hours |
| Swan Island, Yardley (Birmingham A45) | A4040 Outer Circle, Yardley, Sheldon, Acocks Green | The Swan shopping centre car park at Yardley | A long run from London: allow 2 to 3 hours |
| Small Heath and Bordesley Circus (Birmingham A45) | A4540 Middleway, St Andrew's, Small Heath, Clean Air Zone boundary | Small Heath side streets or the retail car parks on Coventry Road | A long run from London: allow 2 to 3 hours |
| Digbeth (Birmingham A45) | Digbeth, Birmingham city centre, Custard Factory | Digbeth's surface car parks | A long run from London: allow 2 to 3 hours |
There are no motorway-style services on this road. Use the junction table for the nearest safe stop.
On the Nene Valley Way and out to Thrapston, or across Coventry into Birmingham, we work wherever the A45 lets you park: Riverside, Rushden Lakes, the NEC.
Along the Nene Valley Way the culprit can be a screw from the Brackmills lorries, and the light comes on near Great Billing or Wilby Way; Riverside retail park and Rushden Lakes are directly off the A45 and ideal for a repair.
How a mobile puncture repair is done →A burst at 70 between Wellingborough and Thrapston pulls the car towards the failed side with no lane to escape into. Keep steering straight and let it slow; only if still under control, leave at Chowns Mill or Raunds. If not, pull well left, hazards on, call 999, then arrange recovery.
What to do after a burst tyre →The locking wheel nut is the part most likely to defeat a spare change on the A45, whether at Rushden Lakes with a shopping load or at the airport with a flight to catch. Get the car into a retail park, an airport car park or a side street off Coventry Road. Our tools shift rounded or keyless locking nuts cleanly.
How locking wheel nuts are removed →Overnight the Northamptonshire A45 is a lorry corridor and the Birmingham end is airport traffic at all hours. Both give off-road stopping places if the car can still reach them safely: Rushden Lakes and Riverside have big open car parks, and the airport short-stay and the NEC car parks are close. Call at any time of night with the size and location.
How our 24 hour tyre service works →Motorway advice follows the Highway Code (motorway rules 253 to 273 and breakdown rules 274 to 287) and National Highways breakdown guidance; repairs follow BS AU 159, the British Standard for tyre repairs.
Eastbound towards Raunds a nail from the Brackmills lorries sets the pressure warning off. Leave at Chowns Mill and park at Rushden Lakes, away from the store doors. A central hole under 6 mm is plugged.
A rear tyre lets go before the M42 J6 roundabout with a plane to make. Hold the wheel, slow gradually and turn into the airport short-stay. Tell us the flight time; we fit the tyre there.
A slow flat on Coventry Road through Sheldon, and the locking wheel nut key is not in the boot. Skip the bus-lane kerbside and park at the Swan centre in Yardley. We free the nut.
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Written and checked by Hiwad Yarkhil, founder of Rescue Tyres LTD, Unit 9 Adrian Avenue, Brent Cross, London NW2 1LX. Updated 2026-10-08.
Off the A45 at Riverside, Rushden Lakes, the airport or the Swan centre with the car parked? Send the details.
