Motorway clear after day of delay

Five people were hurt but no-one's injuries was life-threatening

An obstruction on Northern Ireland's main motorway has been cleared, ending a day of major traffic disruption.

A crash involving two lorries and a car on the M1 left five people injured and saw the road closed in both directions between Lisburn and Stockman's Lane.

One man was trapped in his lorry after the accident, which happened just before 0800 BST. Four people were taken to hospital. Two were later discharged.

Earlier, a man was killed in an accident on the Westlink in Belfast.

The pedestrian died about 0130 BST. His name has not yet been released.

The road was closed for about six hours but re-opened on Thursday morning.

Traffic on the motorway came to a standstill

Thousands of motorists were caught up in the chaos following the M1 crash.

Fire officer John Wilson helped to cut the injured free.

"There were a number of vehicles involved. We were only aware of the one casualty trapped when we arrived," he said.

"That was the driver of a lorry who was heading towards the city. He had a very heavy load of steelwork which had shifted slightly as a result of the accident.

"Miraculously, it had not actually impacted on him but it did mean it was a much more delicate operation for us to remove him because he was actually trapped in part by the steel."

Many motorists had to wait hours before they finally reached the city and there were widespread delays across south Belfast.

It is not known what caused the collision.

The road reopened just after 2100 BST.