THE DRIVER of a vehicle involved in a serious crash on the M61 miraculously escaped with no serious injuries.

Motorway police were called at around 11pm last night after a black car appeared to collide with a metal barrier forcing it upward into the raised barriers close to Junction 2 for Salford and Manchester City Centre.

Two lanes on the motorway were closed for nearly five hours while authorities removed the vehicle and assessed the damaged to the metal crash barriers.

An image released by Highways England showed the vehicle heavily damaged with sections of the raised barrier covering the road.

However, police say nobody was seriously injured in the crash.

A representative from Highways England said the collision had caused disruption to motorists, leaving several vehicles on the hard shoulder and "debris" scattered across the carriageway.

The incident caused delays for several hours from Junction 2 to Junction 4 for Eastbound travellers headed into Manchester.