A DRIVER was airlifted to hospital after smashing his car into the central reservation on the M4 yesterday afternoon and embedding the metal fencing into the car.

Fire crews had to cut the driver, a man in his 30's, free from his car in pouring rain after he complained of serious head and back pain.

The accident happened between the Chippenham and Swindon junction shortly after 5.30pm.

Great Western Ambulance Service officer on scene Vince Almond said: “It was quite a difficult extraction as the metal cables of the central reservation were embedded in the car.

"Also, a sudden and very heavy downpour meant we had to keep the patient warm and dry while we worked with our fire service colleagues to free him.

“The patient was complaining of neck and back pain, so the Wiltshire Air Ambulance was requested to fly him to Great Western Hospital – it was able to get to the scene despite the bad weather.”

Police closed several lanes of the motorway while GWAS and fire crews dealt with the incident including the outside lane of the west-bound carriageway.

Delays of almost an hour were caused because of the accident.