ONE man was killed in a head-on collision between two cars which plunged rush-hour Traffic into chaos .

Police said the man, believed to be from East Lancashire, is thought to have driven the wrong way up a slip road onto the M65 eastbound near Blackburn at 7am.

A man driving another vehicle, a Ford Focus registered in the West Midlands, was seriously injured and was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

The dead man's car was thrown onto the central reservation.

The M65's eastbound carriageway was closed between junctions five and six to allow emergency services to access the scene.

Traffic queues stretched back to Ewood after the crash.

Firefighters were called to the scene and placed on standby but were not needed.

The scene was sealed off to allow accident investigators to piece together what happened.

A police spokesman said: "The accident happened at the start of the morning rush hour and initially caused lengthy tailbacks, although the situation began to ease as vehicles were diverted.

"Roads leading onto the motorway at junction five were most affected although routes in the opposite direction remained relatively clear."