THE city of Lancaster ground to a halt on Tuesday after an horrific smash on the M6 motor-way brought chaos to the area.

Most of the city's ancient streets were gridlocked as traffic was diverted from the M6 after the smash at around 10pm on Monday.

The motorway was closed in both directions after the smash, causing long tailbacks.

The southbound carriageway reopened at lunchtime on Tuesday but the northbound section remained closed until well into Tuesday night.

Five people, including two police traffic officers and a fire-fighter, were taken to hospital following the accident close to junction 33 of the busy motorway.

A Mann lorry (pictured) carrying chemicals careered into the central reservation and overturned before colliding with a foreign-registered Renault wagon travel-ling in the opposite direction.

A special decontamination unit raced to the scene to deal with the chemicals, believed to be formaldehyde solution and methanol.

Junctions 33 to 34 of the M6 were closed in both directions, meaning all traffic was diverted through the city.

Both lorry drivers were taken to Royal Preston Hospital. The 62-year-old driver, who was travelling south, suffered serious injuries and the second driver was treated for minor injuries, say police.

The two policemen and fire officer were taken to hospital after breathing in fumes from the chemicals but were released after treatment.

Traffic started to build up in the city at around 6am, with thousands of commuters late for work.

Wagons and cars were stuck for hours with one fed-up commuter saying: "It has taken me 35 minutes to cover less than one mile."

Another was reported to have taken four hours to travel from Kendal.

A motor cyclist suffered two broken arms and a broken leg and had extensive bruising after being involved in an accident on Tuesday morning.

The man, from Bolton-le-Sands, was taken to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary after being involved in a collision with a car on Lancaster Road, Slyne, at 8.30am.

The road was closed for 40 minutes as police and other emergency services dealt with the incident.