M5 closed due to 1,000 chickens on road

Over 1,000 frozen chickens were left scattered on the M5 earlier today after the van they were travelling in crashed.

Four lanes of the motorway southbound between junctions 19 and 20 near Bristol were closed while 30 boxes of poultry were cleaned up.

Police were called at around 11.40am after the vehicle collided with the central reservation and turned on its side. The driver was treated for minor injuries at Weston General Hospital, This Is Somerset reports.

Avon and Somerset Police, the Highways Agency and firefighters joined forces to clear the chickens off the road. The motorway was eventually re-opened at 12.20pm.

A police spokesman advised motorists travelling southbound to approach the scene with care.

Last week, a teenage girl was hit by raw chicken pieces falling from the sky.