A NINE-car smash caused motorway chaos during the morning rush hour in Bolton.

The emergency services were called to the M61, near to junction five at Westhoughton, following a string of collisions at around 8am.

The trouble began when a van flipped on to its side on the westbound carriageway, which then led to two cars colliding in the outside lane of the motorway.

Another six minor collisions then followed in the other two lanes, blocking the whole carriageway.

One woman and a young child were taken to hospital.

A police spokesman said: "Around nine vehicles were involved and traffic was brought to a standstill until about 8.30am when police managed to clear the carriage way. Nobody was seriously injured."

The gridlock was added to by a smash on the M60, near the Trafford Centre at junction 10, at around 8.15am when five cars were in collision with each other. Nobody was seriously injured in this incident.

One Bolton commuter, who asked not to be named, said: "It was total chaos. It took me two hours and 20 minutes to get to Bolton from Knutsford and loads of other people at work were late. It must have affected hundreds of people."