AN over-turned lorry caused traffic chaos at a busy motorway junction yesterday.

The Renault 440 HGV toppled over on the roundabout beneath junction eight of the M65 near Hapton, as the male driver looked to turn on to the southbound carriage of the A56.

The accident happened at around noon and caused the westbound M65 sliproad, and A56 entrance, to be closed for several hours.

The driver, who works for a company in Northern Ireland, was unhurt, but the incident caused long tailbacks on the motorway and disruption for commuters as contractors cleared and resurfaced the road.

Officers at the scene said they were investigating whether the accident was caused by driver error or mechanical defect, and the driver was helping with the enquiries.

The motorway sliproad runs next to the roundabout for a short section, and officers said it was fortunate there were no vehicles passing as the lorry tipped over the partition and on to the sliproad.

Sergeant Sean Cunningham, of Lancashire Constabulary’s road policing unit, said a large diesel spill meant the road needed to be resurfaced, after heavy recovery vehicles had lifted the lorry back on to its wheels.

He added: “Had there been a vehicle coming round the slip it could have been fatal, so it’s lucky it was not a more serious accident.”

The Highways Agency said repairs to the road because diesel had damaged its surface would take until at least 9pm to complete.