A CRASH near Newport brought one carriageway of the M4 to a grinding halt yesterday.

Thousands of drivers were caught up in tailbacks which added up to an hour to their journeys, and other roads in the city like the Southern Distributor Road saw heavy slow-moving traffic as drivers diverted off the motorway.

Emergency services were called to the scene on the westbound carriageway of the motorway between junctions 24 and 25 around 10.45am.

A black Jaguar car ended up on its roof after it collided with a Slovakian heavy goods vehicle.

Police said the male driver of the car had minor back and neck injuries and was taken to Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital as a precaution.

Two lanes of the M4 were temporarily closed while emergency services attended and the vehicles were recovered.

By 11.30am, there were tailbacks of slow-moving and stationery traffic from junction 25 past the Coldra roundabout.

Motorists trying to avoid the route travelled through Newport on the South Distributor Road causing heavy tailbacks on all adjoining roads, including the A449 and Malpas Road.