M6: Lorry falls 60ft from Thelwall Viaduct on to embankment in Cheshire

The driver of the lorry is not believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries.

The accident happened at about 6.50pm on Monday, when the vehicle, which was heading north, plummeted from the Thelwall Viaduct between junctions 20 and 21, landing on the embankment below, Cheshire Constabulary said.

Fire crews used rescue equipment to lower themselves to the driver, who was then passed over to paramedics. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service used water to cool the lorry and stopped a leak of around 1,000 litres of biodiesel from the vehicle.

Three lanes are expected to remain closed on the northbound carriageway until the morning due to the damage caused to the barrier, the force said. One lane will remain open with a reduced speed limit. Police have advised motorists to avoid the area.

National Highways said that this morning two out of the four lanes of the motorway are closed and that drivers should expect delays while a “complex repair operation is underway and will continue throughout the morning”.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said that five fire engines, from Warrington, Lymm, Middlewich, Chester and Powey Lane, plus a rescue boat from Warrington and an aerial appliance from Lymm were called out.

The Thelwall Viaduct, between Junctions 20 and 21 of the M6, crosses the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey.