IT WAS a day of misery on the roads for drivers after a series of crashes, road works and broken down vehicles caused chaos on the motorway and in the centre of Worcester yesterday.

The closure of one lane on Worcester’s main river bridge brought afternoon rush-hour traffic to a standstill on the day that several incidents brought vehicles on the M5 motorway to a halt.

The disruption began when two cars collided at about 7.50am on the southbound carriageway of the M5 between junction 4A for the M42 and junction five for Droitwich. 

The ambulance service was called but no one needed hospital treatment.

Just 40 minutes later at 8.30am a three-car collision happened on the southbound carriageway at junction six for the Sixways roundabout.

One person was trapped in their car and had to be secured with a neck brace and spinal board before they and two others were taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester, where their conditions are not thought to be life-threatening.

There were long delays with queues as far back as junction seven for the A44, where further disruption was caused by a broken-down lorry in the middle lane. 

Delays on both carriageways lasted for several hours before traffic returned to normal.

Meanwhile commuters faced long delays at one of the busiest routes through Worcester when one lane of the river bridge closed.

The lane into the city was closed from about 2pm while Western Power Distribution carried out ‘emergency’ repairs to a high voltage cable fault.

The work continued throughout the evening but as your Worcester News went to press last night it was hoped the lane would be open in time for today’s morning rush hour. 

The pavement on the north side of the bridge was also closed while the work was carried out.

A previous cable fault at the junction of The Butts and Angel Place, which caused power cuts on Friday, has been repaired.

* TWO cars ended up in a hedge after crashing on an icy road yesterday morning.

Police said a black Volkswagen Golf and a white Ford Fiesta, left the B4204, in Castle Hill, Wichenford, near Worcester, at about 8.20am.

A police spokesman said there were no injuries and took the opportunity to warn drivers to be on their guard against icy roads – a message reiterated by Worcestershire County Council’s Highway Agency team.

“Motorists should not assume roads have been gritted and ensure they adjust their driving according to the weather conditions,” said a council spokesman.