Why the M60 took so long to reopen after crash

All the vehicles involved had to be removed and the carriageway needed to be cleared of debris, it said.

National Highways said the collision involving four HGVS, two cars and a van saw two lorries cross the central reservation.

Two lanes of the M60 anticlockwise were opened shortly after 13:30 on Tuesday with lane three remaining closed for safety reasons as further repairs continued.

All three lanes of the M60 clockwise were then reopened at about 17:15.

Two lanes were closed overnight again in both directions between Junctions 1 and 25 from 21:30 for barrier repairs and from about 04:30 all lanes of the motorway were running again, National Highways said.

It apologised for the disruption caused and said it appreciated "everyone's patience while the repairs were carried out".