A LORRY driver from the Ribble Valley died when he was involved in an eight vehicle collision on the M6, an inquest heard.

Car driver Adam Anderton, of Wigan, told the inquest how he had seen a SPAR lorry, driven by Alan Walmsley, 62, of Mardale Road, Longridge, as he was driving along the motorway in Cumbria.

“I could see the truck approaching from behind and flashed my hazard warning lights to say that I was stopped there but I could see it wasn’t slowing down,” said Mr Anderton.

“There was no traffic in the other lanes so I had to make a split second decision to move or stay, so I put my foot down and got out of of there.”

Mr Walmsley’s lorry crashed into the back of a flatbed lorry being driven by Michael Proctor, 22, of Salisbury Street, Southport.

Both men were killed in the accident. In total five hgvs, two cars and a van were involved in the accident.

Several of the drivers in these vehicles, which were in lane one on the northbound carriageway near to junction 36, Farleton, described hearing the ‘almighty bang’ of the two lorries colliding during their evidence at the hearing.

The inquest heard that neither of the two lorries involved in the February 25 crash had any significant defects, and poor weather or visibility was not an issue.

Collision Investigator PC Richard Weijak said it was unlikely Mr Walmsley had fallen asleep as there was no evidence of him drifting to one side.

He said: “It’s quite clear that roadworks on the A590 had an effect on the traffic flow on the motorway that morning - traffic had built up and became stationary.”

Ian Smith, Coroner for South and East Cumbria, said: “The circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two men are appalling and tragic.

“Mr Walmsley was not affected by alcohol or drugs, he was wearing a seatbelt and there is no evidence he was on a mobile phone or that this was a deliberate act – he simply ended up driving into the back of a vehicle that was stationary.

“A matter of inattention to what’s ahead has caused this appalling tragedy to him, Mr Proctor and the other people involved,” added Mr Smith, who concluded that both men died as a result of a road vehicle collision.