MIRACULOUSLY the driver of this van escaped with just minor injuries after a crash on the A14 today.

MIRACULOUSLY the driver of this van escaped with just minor injuries after a crash on the A14 today.

The collision involving an articulated lorry and a Renault van happened at about 5.40am on the westbound carriageway at Sproughton and resulted in one of the vehicles spinning around and smashing into road works on the central reservation.

Fortunately no other passengers were in the van and the driver was taken to Ipswich Hospital with minor back injuries.

Emergency services crews attended the scene, which was near the junction with the Whitehouse interchange, and the road was closed while the vehicles were recovered.

Traffic built up in the area while the road was cleared and it remained slow after the vehicles were recovered at 7.40am.

A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said: “A Renault van and an articulated lorry were involved in a collision. The van ended up by the central reservation facing oncoming traffic. There was substantial damage caused to the passenger side. No other passengers were in the vehicle.

“The road was completely closed to aid recovery. One lane was later opened to let traffic go through.

“The driver of the van was taken to hospital.”

One lane of the eastbound carriageway was also closed as some of the debris from the van had flown over to the other side of the road.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Trust said: “There was one male casualty. He was suffering from back pain and was taken into the ambulance on a stretcher and brought to Ipswich Hospital.”

Firefighters attended the scene but as no one was trapped, they made the scene safe and left by 6.05am.

The crash happened on the day when the UK experienced its coldest night of the country's freezing spell, with temperatures plunging to -12C in some areas.

The temperature is not expected to go much above freezing until the weekend.