A driver has been rushed to hospital after a "serious crash" on the M5 in Somerset forced a large stretch of the motorway to close, sparking travel chaos accross the region.

       An update on the National Highways website read at the time of the incident: "The M5 in Somerset is closed northbound between junction 21 (Weston-Super-Mare) to Junction 19 (Portishead) due to a serious collision.

       "Avon and Somerset Police are currently leading the response to this closure. This incident came through to National Highways at approximately 10:30 and at present we have no estimated re-opening time."

       A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police force told Express.co.uk: "We were called shortly before 10.30am to a report that a car had left the northbound carriageway of the M5 near junction 19 (Portishead). Officers attended alongside the ambulance and fire service and the northbound carriageway was closed between junctions 20 and 19.

       "The driver of the vehicle has been taken to hospital with injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening or life-changing. The carriageway has since reopened except for a single lane closure which remains in replace to allow the vehicle to be recovered."

       A spokesperson for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust added: "We were called at 10.26am on Wednesday, April 10 to a traffic incident near Portbury. We sent one double-crewed land ambulance, one operations officer, one critical care car and a hazardous area response team to the scene and conveyed one patient by land ambulance to Southmead Hospital."

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