A SERIES of incidents caused chaos on Worcestershire's roads over the weekend and emergency services blamed several on heavy rain.

Firefighters were called to a car fire on the M5 in the early hours of yesterday.

But crews from Droitwich and Bromsgrove arrived at the scene, between junctions four and five, to find the 5.53am call was a false alarm.

At 10.30am the previous day, a motorcyclist had to be treated in hospital after a collision with a car at the Hanley Swan crossroads, near Upton-upon-Severn.

The incidents followed five accidents on Friday which police blamed on heavy rain.

In the first, a 19-year-old motorcyclist came off his bike outside a newsagents on Comer Road, St John's at around 12.40pm. He was taken to Ronkswood Hospital but was not seriously injured.

Another casualty was taken to Ronkswood with minor injuries after the car they were in collided with another vehicle on the junction of Checkett's Lane and Ombersley Road at around 1.45pm. Firefighters had to cut the victim free.

Two cars were involved in a collision outside the Lock Inn in Wolverley just before 2pm the same day. One person was treated for whiplash.

Minutes later, a 38-year-old driver escaped unhurt when his lorry left the road and careered into a field at Chaddesley Wood Farm in Chaddesley Corbett.

At 3.20pm, a male driver managed to clamber out of his green Rover unscathed after it rolled off the A442 by Flyford Flavell.