Three crashes in one hour on Laois motorway

THREE truck crashes within an hour caused delays on Laois sections of the M7 motorway this morning.

In one bizarre incident, a repair truck trying to close off a lane following the second collision was struck by another vehicle, causing further chaos for commuters.

Gardaí confirmed that the series of accidents began at 8.05am, when a westbound lorry struck a barrier between the Ballybrittas exit at Junction 15 and Junction 14 for Monasterevan.

Debris was scattered across the road when the truck hit a barrier on the south side, with traffic held up for a time while debris was cleared.

Just 45 minutes later, a HGV travelling west went out of control and crashed on the motorway, between the Portlaoise exit at Junction 16 and Junction 17 for Meelick.

Traffic was delayed again while the road was cleared following the crash at 8.50am. But about 20 minutes later, a repair truck attending the scene was struck by another vehicle, causing further chaos.

According to gardaí, the lane affected by the second collision was being closed off when another vehicle hit the repair truck at 9.10am.

Emergency services attended all three incidents and damaged trucks were towed away by recovery vehicles. There were no serious injuries.

The motorway did not have to be closed and delays were kept to a minimum, as gardaí set up traffic management while clearance was carried out.