A DOUBLE lorry smash caused gridlock on the M4 yesterday with a male driver airlifted to hospital, fuel spilled and two lanes closed for more than seven hours.

One heavy goods vehicle ploughed into the back of another shortly after 9am, westbound near Junction 15, but the rescue and clean-up operations were so complex, commuters through the evening rush hour faced delays.

The driver of the articulated lorry which suffered the front-end shunt was left physically trapped in his cabin and after a lengthy extrication by Wiltshire Fire & Rescue, Wiltshire Air Ambulance took him to Southmead Hospital with severe leg injuries.

The air ambulance’s arrival on the motorway closed both carriageways for a short time, but delays continued long into the afternoon as Wiltshire Police got to grips with more than 50 litres of diesel and starch from the first HGV which had spilled across the road.

The extent of the fuel and starch on the road extended the closure of two lanes well into the later afternoon, with lane one and the hard shoulder closed overnight for resurfacing by the Highways Agency.

The recovery of the HGVs also caused problems for police.

A spokesman said: “We have had an issue with this spillage of the starch from the first lorry.

“Before anything could be done about reopening more lanes, the leak had to be stopped, but the powder kept coming out of the vehicle. We had to get to grips with that first.

“The male driver airlifted to Southmead Hospital was taken with severe leg injuries. Investigations will continue into the incident.”

Two fire crews attended, with one from Swindon and the other from Stratton.

An emergency support unit from Chippenham was also deployed, which carried heavier duty rescue kit for the extrication of the driver from his cabin.

The man, whose name and age have not been revealed, was eventually cut loose and airlifted at 11.18am.

A spokesman for South West Ambulance Service said: “There was one male casualty. He was airlifted to Southmead Hospital.

“He was trapped by his legs in the cabin and those injuries are severe.”

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: “One of the results of the road traffic collision was quite a bit of fuel spilled on the carriageway and it is likely we will need to resurface both the hard shoulder and lane one.

“Once we are on the scene it is a quick process for resurfacing the lanes. They should be open by Wednesday morning.”

Firefighters used environmental kits to block drains at the scene in order to stop the flow of fuel and starch into the sewers.