A MAN was pulled from a lorry and taken to hospital after a major crash on the M5 at Bromsgrove. 

The lorry overturned and caught fire on the M5 northbound under junction 4 at around 3pm on January 3.

Police closed the M5 in both directions while fire crews used the motorway bridge to tackle the blaze from above.

Huge delays of up to an hour had been reported, with the M5 in gridlock.

West Mercia Police said the motorway "will be closed for the foreseeable future" and urged drivers to "please avoid".

Bromsgrove Advertiser:

(ABOVE: Firefighters tackle the blaze. Credit OPU Worcestershire).

The lorry driver, a man, was pulled from the vehicle and taken to hospital having miraculously suffered "relatively minor injuries".

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: "West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to junction 4 of the northbound carriageway of the M5 shortly after 3.00pm this afternoon to reports of a lorry which had overturned and was on fire.  

"The lorry driver, a man, was pulled from the cab by a passer-by.

"He was assessed by ambulance staff on scene and had suffered relatively minor injuries but, due to the nature of the incident, was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham as a precaution."

A male passer-by was also checked over by ambulance staff and was found to have suffered smoke inhalation.

He was given treatment on scene before being taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

Bromsgrove Advertiser:

(ABOVE: The lorry fire has been extinguished. Credit OPU Worcestershire)

The southbound carriageway reopened at around 6.30pm but the northbound carriageway remained closed until the early morning, with drivers experiencing delays of up to 90 minutes.

Two lanes opened by 6.30am on Thursday morning, after the northbound carriageway was closed for around 15 hours while the lorry was recovered.

Lane three remains closed for repair work with traffic using lanes one and two to pass the scene. Lane three is to remain closed throughout the day, so expect delays.

Two ambulances, two paramedic officers, the Midlands Air Ambulance from Strensham with a BASICS doctor on board and the Trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) attended the scene.