A RECOVERY firm faced a tricky task shifting a stricken lorry which crashed off the M62 and overturned.

The lorry careered off the westbound carriageway just before Scammonden Dam at 4.50am yesterday.

It ploughed 30ft up a banking, flipped over and ended up on its side. The lorry then slid back down, so the back end was touching the hard shoulder.

The driver managed to scramble free with just a cut face. But he was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, because paramedics were worried about his blood pressure.

Sowerby Bridge-based vehicle recovery experts Stoneywood Motors were called to the scene minutes after the crash.

Workers spent five hours righting the lorry and then supporting it with giant airbags. It was then left overnight.

Garage manager Steve Fielding said: "It was a massive job. The lorry

was loaded with frozen food and weighed about 40 tonnes.

"We started again at 10pm last night and finished at 6am today.

"A major problem was that the trailer tyres had burst. We had to replace them before we could shift it. It was also behind a lamp-post, so it needed careful manoeuvring round it."