M6 shut again after man hit by lorry
A man was hit by a lorry closing the M6 - hours after a fire had sparked chaos on the busy motorway for motorists.
Police were forced to shut the M6 at junction nine for Wednesbury after the man was struck by a truck.
The incident happened at around 10.30pm yesterday forcing the route to be closed by Central Motorways Police Group.
A police spokeswoman today said the man escaped with a fractured cheekbone but was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital for treatment.
He was also subject of a mental health assessment.
West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman Jamie Arrowsmith said: "On arrival, crews were told that the collision happened at low speed, leaving a male pedestrian injured.
"Ambulance crews assessed the man and treated him for a minor head injury, back and chest pain.
"The driver of the lorry was uninjured in the incident."
It came after the motorway was partially shut for long periods yesterday and overnight.
The M6 was reopened this morning following a lorry fire which caused long delays for motorists.
A section of the M6 at junction seven for Great Barr was resurfaced overnight after yesterday's chaos.
Motorists had faced delays of more than two hours after the lorry burst into flames.
The motorway was shut at junction seven after a Knights of Old lorry caught fire on the northbound carriageway at around 8am.
Billows of black smoke were pouring across the road as flames leaped from the truck's cab and spread towards the trailer.
Video footage showed the burning lorry straddling the two inside lanes as cars continued to pass by before emergency services arrived.
West Midlands Fire Service soon joined motorway police on the scene and had put out the fire by 8.35am, by which point only the shell of the trailer remained.
The section was only partially opened during the day and shut again for temporary repairs to the road with further tailbacks
The M6 was reopened at around 4pm but with only with a 40mph speed limit after the lorry was cleared.
It closed again overnight to allow the road surface to be fully replaced.
Delays did occur initially as result of the road being closed again but these dissipated by midnight and the repairs were complete and road fully re-opened by 6am.
Highways England Operations Manager James Hawkes said: "We have tried to keep disruption to a minimum and we thank all road users for their patience during the incident and the clear-up operation."
Firefighters from Aston fire station are at the scene this afternoon.
