M11 lorry driver freed from trapped cab after three hours

Fire crews worked for several hours to get to the man trapped inside his lorry

Fire crews took three hours to free a seriously-injured lorry driver after his vehicle left the road and ended up on its side.

Emergency services were called to the northbound M11 between Bishop's Stortford and Saffron Walden at about 08:20 GMT on Wednesday.

The driver was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

The incident closed the northbound stretch for several hours, with diversions put in place.

The motorway reopened on Wednesday afternoon - but was closed again overnight for the vehicle and its cargo to be recovered.

The lorry, carrying white goods, ended up on its side by the M11 motorway on Wednesday

The lorry was carrying "white goods", the fire service said, when it left the carriageway and "rolled down the embankment".

A spokesman said the lorry struck a "large tree causing extensive damage to the cab of the vehicle".

Firefighters managed to identify and contain a fuel leak from the vehicle, the service added.

A number of white goods were thrown from the vehicle

There was "extensive damage" to the lorry, Essex Fire and Rescue Service said

Fire crews and police from Essex and Cambridgeshire, as well as air ambulance and paramedic teams from the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST), and National Highways, all worked on the incident, it added.

A spokesman from EEAST said one ambulance, one ambulance officer vehicle, four Hazardous Area Response Team Vehicles and an East Anglian Air Ambulance attended and the male driver was taken to Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge, by ambulance, with "serious injuries".

Emergency services from Essex and Cambridgeshire attended the scene