THE M62 was shut yesterday after a pile-up in fog near Huddersfield.

One man was hurt when two lorries and three cars were involved in the smash on the eastbound carriageway close to junction 23 at Outlane at 8.20am.

The cars involved were a BMW, a Nissan and an MG.

One of the lorries went through the central reservation onto the westbound carriageway.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "The westbound carriageway was partially closed and the eastbound carriageway was completely closed while the vehicles were recovered."

The westbound carriageway remained shut for most of the morning with thousands of drivers caught up in the jam.

One lane on either side of the central reservation stayed shut while the barrier was repaired.

The injured man in his 30s was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

Examiner reporter David Himelfield travels from Manchester to work.

Mr Himelfield said: "My journey went as normal until I passed Ripponden. There the traffic came grinding to a halt. After a while we realised we weren't moving so I turned off the engine and dozed off.

"People were getting out of their cars. I couldn't call work because the mobile phone network was jammed. We didn't move for the best part of three hours."

Anyone who saw the crash should contact motorway police on 01924 293053 or 01924 293054.

* More misery for motorists happened on the same stretch yesterday afternoon.

As the backlog was clearing on the eastbound carriageway a lorry caught fire.

The fire was confined to the refrigeration unit after the driver managed to stop near Scammonden reservoir at 1.40pm.