Rush hour crash closes part of motorway near Preston

The westbound carriageway of the motorway, heading towards Preston, was closed for a short time after the incident at around 6:45am.

Emergency services were able to open part of the road soon after and traffic was later said to be getting past the scene, although congestion was still said to be heavy as drivers tried to get to work.

The collision happened between Junction 4 (the A666 for Darwen and Blackburn South) and Junction 3 (the A674 for Blackburn West, Wheelton and Walton-le-Dale).

Traffic backed up as far as Junction 5 (the Guide turn-off) on the westbound carriageway and the opposite eastbound carriageway was also affected, with slow traffic back to Walton Summit.

It is not know how many vehicles were involved in the early morning collision, or if there have been any serious injuries.