van rolls across carriageway onto wrong side of M40

This is the terrifying moment a van somersaulted over a motorway central barrier into incoming traffic and hit another vehicle - but both drivers walked away from the wreckage.

Heart-stopping dashcam footage shows the grey van rolling across the M40 near the Gaydon Interchange by Birmingham yesterday and landing in the outside lane of the opposite carriageway.                           

Barry, 65, a driver for kitchen and bathroom manufacturer Lark & Larks Ltd, had just enough time to swerve and avoid a head-on crash with the careering van.

His quick response meant there was only a minor collision and, remarkably, both drivers were left largely unscathed.

Barry's vehicle dashcam caught the whole ordeal at 6.05am on camera - and shows just how close he came to disaster.

Martin Larkin, 52, operations director at Larks & Larks said: 'It was one of our drivers who was on the receiving end of the crash.  

'Barry was pretty shaken up but he appears to be okay.

'He and the other driver both managed to walk away from it. '

He added: 'He said the other guy walked away from the accident with just a cut on his face and a cut on his hand - which is unbelievable, really, when you look at the footage.

He was lucky to avoid the HGV driver that was in front of Barry. It could have been a lot worse.

'The ambulance took the other driver away to the hospital for observation, but he seemed to be okay. 

Both vehicles suffered extensive damage, he added.  'Our van took significant damage to the front, and was left with a big hole in the side panel a couple of meters in length.

'We're waiting to hear whether that's fixable and how much it will cost.

'But I'm just glad our driver seems to be okay. He's got a day off work today anyway, so we'll check in on him later on.'

Mr Larkin said the driver had taken yesterday afternoon off to see the doctor.

Lanes were closed while authorities worked to clear the scene and repair the crash barrier.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to the scene, between junctions 12 and 13, at 6:09am.

'One ambulance and a paramedic officer attended the scene,' a statement added. 'On arrival we discovered one patient, a man, who was the van driver.

'He was treated for minor injuries before being taken to Warwick Hospital for further assessment.'