M1 closed for more than eight hours after lorry overturns and crashes into concrete barrier near Northampton

Six lanes remained closed on the M1 in Northamptonshire for more than eight hours after a lorry crashed overturned and crashed into the central reservation barrier on Wednesday (December 28).

Some drivers were stranded in their vehicles from just before 8am until after noon as National Highways engineers carried out painstaking work to clear the HGV, which blocked all four lanes southbound, and a large fuel spillage on the northbound carriageway. Work eventually finished at around 4.30pm.

Emergency services confirmed the driver had a remarkable escape. The lorry’ cab came to rest on top of the concrete central barrier after the truck rolled about a mile south of junction 16 with the trailer sprawled across all four lanes. Yet, according to police reports, the driver walked away with just “a few scratches.”

Trapped traffic was released by turning vehicles around and escorting them the ‘wrong way’ up the M1 to junction 16.