12-mile jams after M6 smash

Motorists on the M6 were stuck in queues of more than 12 miles today after a car crashed into a lorry, killing one man and injuring five workmen.

See also: M6 chaos - in pictures

The driver of the Mercedes car died at the scene after crashing into the lorry which was being used by workmen mending a barrier on the northbound carriageway between junctions 6 and 7.

The motorway was closed northbound after the smash around 2am.

Two workmen suffered injuries, which were not thought to be life threatening, and were taken to Sandwell Hospital. Three other workmen described as "walking wounded" were taken to Walsall Manor Hospital.

Claudine Weeks, spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said the men were using a flatbed lorry with a crane on the back to lift the metal barrier parts when the accident happened.

"The car was severely damaged by the impact and the male driver was confirmed dead at the scene," she said. "The workmen were injured as a result of the impact."

Drivers were forced to sit in jams after the police closed the M6 northbound between junction 6 Spaghetti Junction and 7 for Great Barr following the accident. Two lanes of the motorway remained closed after the crash and traffic was reported to be backed up to junctions 3 and 4. The motorway was fully open again by 10.45am.

Highways bosses were also forced to close the motorway at spaghetti junction where the A38M Aston Expressway meets the M6 as traffic started to build up.

Commuter Bob Kane, who was travelling from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, said he got stuck in traffic as he tried to join the motorway at the Scott Arms junction in Great Barr. "There was far heavier traffic than normal on the Walsall Road it must have been due to people trying to avoid the motorway," he said.

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