THREE men who were arrested on suspicion of threats to kill have been released from custody.

The men were arrested after a recovery vehicle driver was reportedly attacked after a crash on the M5 northbound at Junction 4A (Bromsgrove).

Highways England said one of its employees suffered minor injuries in the assault, which happened at around 6.04pm on Tuesday.

Some of the recovery workers at the scene told police that the attack involved an axe.

West Mercia Police said: “Following the collision, it's reported the driver of a recovery vehicle - a man in his forties - was verbally threatened by three occupants in a car, before being assaulted with a bladed item.

“A vehicle was later stopped on Junction 1 of the M5 and a 40-year-old man from Birmingham and a 30-year-old man from Kidderminster were both arrested on suspicion of threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon. They are currently on bail.

“A 25-year-old man from Birmingham who was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon has been released with no further action.”

Police also seized three knives.

Anyone with information about the incident can ring 101 quoting incident number 625s of September 25.