M5 motorway crash closure: Man faces multiple charges

Image source, Highways England

Image caption, The collision caused several miles of tailbacks on the M5

A man who was arrested after a crash forced the closure of the M5 motorway for 10 hours has been charged with a range of offences.

Wayne Smith, 27, is due to appear in court in connection with the crash near Clevedon, North Somerset, on Monday.

Mr Smith, of Tamworth, also faces charges in connection with events in Staffordshire earlier in the day.

A child, who was in the vehicle when it crashed, was taken to hospital "as a precaution".

Mr Smith is accused of false imprisonment, sexual assault of a female, dangerous driving, assault and wilful neglect of a child.

He is due to appear before magistrates in Staffordshire later.

Hundreds of motorists were left trapped on the motorway for hours as police closed the road to carry out an investigation.

Highways England said it was involved in turning around a large number of stationary vehicles before the M5 was reopened.