Man, 21, dies following crash with petrol tanker on M6 in Wigan

Emergency services were called at around 6.40pm on Wednesday to reports of a collision involving a Peugeot 207 car and a petrol tanker between junctions 27 and 28 northbound.

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The incident led to the motorway being shut for nine hours overnight, as the casualties were treated and the accident investigation got under way.

Police have now confirmed that the driver of the Peugeot - a 21-year-old man from Blackburn - suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 21-year-old woman from Blackburn, who was a passenger in the Peugeot, had a serious head injury and was taken to Royal Preston Hospital for treatment.

The driver of the tanker - a 58-year-old man from Ellesmere Port - was not injured.

Police are now working to piece together what happened and are continuing to appeal for witnesses.

Sgt Claire Pearson, of Lancashire Police's tactical operations unit, said: “First and foremost our thoughts are very much with the family of the man who died and with the woman who is currently in a very serious condition in hospital.

“We are now working extremely hard to work out what caused this collision and we would urge anybody who saw all or part of the incident to get in touch as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting log 1448 of May 15.