M4 in Carmarthenshire closed after fatal car and lorry crash

Traffic Wales queues on the westbound carriageway at J47Traffic Wales
Traffic cameras showed queues on the westbound carriageway at junction 47 on Tuesday morning

The driver of a car who crashed into a stationary lorry on the M4 died at the scene, police have said.

Emergency services were called to the scene on the eastbound carriageway near Hendy, Carmarthenshire, at 23:20 GMT on Monday.

Both vehicles caught fire following the crash and the road was closed for about 15 hours before reopening on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said the driver's next of kin had been informed about their death.

The motorway was closed between junctions 48 and 49, causing long delays, until about 14:40 on Tuesday.

Peter Walters traffic queuesPeter Walters
The closure caused gridlocked traffic in Pontarddulais, a resident said

Peter Walters, who lives in Pontarddulais, said: "It's just standstill here. We're quite far from the M4 but this happens regularly. The whole area becomes gridlocked.

"There were school buses trying to get through this morning but we could see children coming off and walking to school in Pontarddulais."

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews responded to a road traffic collision involving one private motor vehicle and one light goods vehicle. Both vehicles were well alight on crews' arrival."