Traffic chaos hits M6 as seven vehicles crash

One person was injured in the smash on the southbound carriageway of the motorway between Junction 12 for Cannock and Junction 13 for Stafford at 12.30pm.

It involved one broken down van on the hard shoulder. Ambulance crews say the driver escaped 'serious injuries' by not staying within the stationary vehicle.

Arriving paramedics treated one man, who was taken to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton for cuts to his face.

The crash forced the closure of three of the four lanes on the smart motorway, but after an hour a second lane was reopened.

At its peak drivers on the southbound carriageway faced delays of up to 50 minutes, while there were also smaller delays on the northbound carriageway as drivers rubbernecked to look at the damage of the smash.

Officers from Central Motorway Police tweeted these images from the crash:

Drivers who attempted to avoid the lane closures by turning off onto the A449 Stafford Road through Penkridge also got caught in the delays as the A road became congested.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, Staffordshire Police, Central Motorway Police Group and West Midlands Ambulance Service all attended the scene.

Jamie Arrowsmith, a spokesman for WMAS, who were called just before 12.30pm, said: "On arrival, crews discovered seven vehicles that had been in collision, a combination of vans and HGVs.

"Thankfully, the driver of one of the vans that had broken down prior to the collision had moved away from his vehicle while awaiting recovery otherwise he potentially may have suffered serious injuries in the collision that followed.

"Crews assessed three patients, two lorry drivers and one woman who witnessed the accident and was treated for the effects of shock.

"She, together with one of the lorry drivers, was treated and discharged at the scene.

"The other lorry driver, a man, was treated for cuts to his face and taken to New Cross Hospital for further assessment."

A spokesman for Staffordshire Fire added: "We had a crew from Penkridge and a crew from Stafford attend the scene.

"They first arrived at 12.47pm and it was the M6 southbound between junctions 13 and 12 – which is Dunston to Gailey. Seven vehicles were involved. Two HGVs, three box vans, one small van and one other vehicle.

"There were only minor injuries and one male was taken to New Cross Hospital."

By 3pm Highways England were working on the recovery of the vehicles, which they described as 'complicated'.

A spokesman for the transport authority added: "We don't think there is any damage to the carriageway so there shouldn't have to be any repair works.

"There were delays of up to 50 minutes southbound and smaller delays northbound because of rubbernecking." Gina Lycett, a spokesman for West Midlands Police who control CMPG, said: "We were called at about 20 to one to the M6 junctions 13 to 12 southbound.

"We attended and the ambulance service and fire service were called as a precaution. There were minor injuries and one person was taken to hospital. We left the scene at around 1.50pm."

Motorists travelling on the A449 Stafford Road through Penkridge were delayed as drivers sought faster routes around the motorway. Paige Carey, who works at the Bridge House Hotel off the A449, said: "The traffic has been non-stop, a lot busier than usual. It took me ages to pull into the pub to park up.

"The traffic has been moving but not very fast."

Motorists from Walsall were also caught up in the delays. Jason White, whose Twitter profile says he is from the borough, used the social network to vent his frustration at the delays. He said: "Only on M6 can you be 20 miles from home and sat nav is saying eta is 1hr 25 mins!!!

"3hrs + to get from Manchester to Cannock," the frustrated driver added.