THE M5 northbound near Bromsgrove was left with traffic delays for 16 hours after a collision involving two HGVs.

The northbound carriageway between junction 5 (Bromsgrove/Droitwich) and 4a (M42) was initially closed following the collision at around 5am on Thursday, October 12.

Highways England operations manager, Simon Foxall, warned of delays into the afternoon, with two lanes closed to recover the HGVs and repair barriers.

All lanes re-opened by 9.15pm, some 16 hours after the initial crash. 

One driver, who was trapped in an overturned lorry, sustained "serious injuries" and was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

The second lorry driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital as a precaution.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman added: "When the emergency services arrived they found one lorry which had partially left the carriageway, the cab of the lorry had ended up down an embankment and had overturned.

"The lorry driver, a man in his 40s, was trapped in the wreckage and, upon initial assessment by ambulance staff, it was clear he had sustained serious injuries.

“Ambulance staff, the doctor, HART and the fire service’s technical rescue team worked together to carefully extricate the man from the cab.

"After a complex extrication, the man was fully released from the overturned cab. Ambulance staff were then able to administer advanced trauma care to stabilise his condition and treat the injuries he had sustained to his head, body, arms and leg."

WMAS sent two ambulances, two paramedic officers, the trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team and a MERIT trauma doctor to the scene.