Repairs had to be made to a busy slip road leading onto the M5 which was damaged after a lorry shed its 22-ton load.

Junction 1 at West Bromwich was closed for several hours yesterday afternoon after the steel vehicle press crashed onto the road.

The accident happened at the entry slip road leading on to the southbound carriageway at 1.21pm. 

The slip road was closed and led to traffic tailbacks for miles through West Bromwich. The press left dents in the road where the load had fallen off.

Highways Agency spokeswoman Jo Carroll, said: “It blocked both the lanes, it literally lay across the carriageway.

“We arranged for a crane and also a structural engineer to attend. The engineer did confirm that there was no damage to the structure, but there was damage to the carriageway.”

A specialist crane had to be brought in as the press, believed to be worth around £85,000, was so heavy. But on the first attempt to lift it the hook on the crane broke due to the load’s sheer weight and size and had to be replaced.

One lane was opened at 5.27pm after the load had been removed. The slip road was then closed again at 8.22pm for it to be resurfaced. It was fully re-opened by 2.15am.