A lorry was left teetering precariously on its side after it got wedged under a Midland Metro bridge. All the trams using the line over Tipton were cancelled for around half-an-hour after the smash just after 8pm last night.

Police also closed off the road while the rescue mission got under way. Watch commander at Wednesbury fire station John Wildman was one of the first at the scene in Great Bridge Road. He said: “The huge container on the back of this lorry was completely stuck and it was all balancing on its left-side wheels.

“I didn’t think twice about ordering the trams to stop. It there was any damage to the tram line we could have been looking at a derailment.”

The trams were stopped for around half-an-hour and continued to run “under caution” for the rest of the night.

The road re-opened at 2.15am this morning. The driver was unhurt.

Mr Wildman said: “The lorry was in quite a dangerous position. Once we checked it we made it as safe as possible and the police came and took over.”

The 13ft 6ins bridge is often the scene of similar accidents, according to Mr Wildman. Fire crews from Wednesbury, Willenhall and West Bromwich, attended.

“I’m just thankful that there wasn’t anyone on the footpath at the time because otherwise we’d have been looking at a fatality,” Mr Wildman added.

Stuart Henry, spokesman for Midland Metro, said: “We apologise to any passengers who were inconvenienced. We tried to do all we could to make sure people were kept safe.”

Passengers on the Midland Metro have been facing disruption getting into Birmingham city centre for the past two days.

Trams from Wolverhampton have had to stop at Handsworth Booth Street, with passengers forced to take the number 79 bus for the rest of their journey due to problems with the overhead power lines between the Jewellery Quarter and Handsworth Booth Street.

A shuttle service has also been operating between the Jewellery Quarter and Birmingham Snow Hill tram stops.