Spilled milk closes the M6 motorway after tanker crash

The M6 was closed for most of the day after the tanker crash and spilled milk

The M6 was closed after a large quantity of milk spilled on to the carriageway when a tanker crashed.

It hit the central reservation while travelling north between junctions 31 and 32 near Preston at about 07:00 BST and then crashed through into the southbound carriageway.

Lancashire Police said the motorway was closed for "most of the day" after the spillage, but later reopened.

The male driver and woman passenger were injured and taken to hospital.

A male driver and his female passenger were injured in the crash which caused a large milk spillage

Ch Insp Patrick Worden said emergency teams had need time to recover the tanker and "due to the large scale milk and diesel spillage", the motorway's surface had to be "treated appropriately".

Drivers were advised to make plans for alternate routes while the closure was in place.

A police representative said even though the road had reopened, traffic was "expected to be slow moving and congested for some time so please avoid the area where possible".