Chaos after crash on M6

Thousands of drivers were caught up in hours of chaos and 10 miles of tailbacks on the M6 in Staffordshire after a four-vehicle crash.

Two lorries and two cars collided between junction 13 Stafford and junction 12 Gailey during rush hour.

The southbound carriageway was closed completely following yesterday's smash, while one lane of the northbound carriageway also had to shut.

Cars built up along surrounding main routes in the county, including the busy A449 Stafford Road to Penkridge, with many drivers facing nightmare journeys home.

Police, paramedics and fire crews were all sent to the scene of the crash at around 3.25pm yesterday.

A man in his 60s who was in one of the cars suffered neck injuries and was taken to Stafford Hospital, while a woman in the same vehicle suffered whiplash injuries.

Firefighters cut a woman free from the second car and she was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire with severe neck pain.

At the peak of the chaos, drivers on the M6 were stuck in 10 miles of tailbacks.

James Wilde, aged 35, of Stafford, was stuck in queues on his journey back home from Wolverhampton along the A449 to Stafford.

"It was a nightmare journey really," he said.

"The traffic was gridlocked from Gailey right through to Stafford.

"It took ages to get home."

The northbound carriageway reopened at 6.29pm and the southbound carriageway reopened fully nearly 20 minutes later.

By Laura Blyth