A driver was airlifted to hospital after a smash on the M62.

Emergency services were called to the eastbound carriageway in the Rochdale area at 12.55pm on Friday.

Both sides of the motorway between junctions 21 (Milnrow) and 22 (Rishworth Moor) were closed as the air ambulance landed nearby.

A Huddersfield motorcyclist who saw the crash scene said it appeared a Volvo articulated lorry had collided with the rear of a tipper truck.

It is understood the 48-year-old driver of the tipper truck was airlifted to hospital with back injuries.

The other driver also went to hospital but neither was believed to be seriously injured.

Video Loading

The westbound carriageway re-opened shortly after the air ambulance left but the eastbound side remained closed until 2.15pm.

Two of the four lanes were then re-opened but long tailbacks resulted. Queues stretched back to the M60, at least 12 miles away. Delays of up to two hours were reported.

Motorcyclist Mick Gill, 50, of Newsome, was heading home from work in Cheshire when he got caught up in the tailbacks.

He and other motorcycles weaved their way through stationary traffic and waited at the front for the motorway to re-open.

Mick, who recorded the video above for the Examiner’s website, said: “It looked like the articulated lorry had gone into the back of the tipper truck and the driver of the lorry had injuries to his legs.”

Click here to take you back to more Huddersfield news .

Want to read, watch and hear more? You can download the FREE Examiner Apple App  here , the FREE Examiner Android App  here  or you can view the paper as an e-edition on your Apple, Android or Kindle device by clicking  here

To follow us on Twitter click here