POLICE have closed one lane on both carriageways of the M6 near Shap because of an overturned lorry.

The incident happened at around 2am this morning and has left one lane in each direction closed until the vehicle can be recovered from the scene.

The collision has caused extensive damage to the barrier between junctions 39 and 40 and police have warned motorists to expect delays throughout the morning.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are currently dealing with an overturned HGV M6 @ Shap. Full closure but 2 lanes in each direction open soon <a href="https://t.co/CawDKWOhOT">pic.twitter.com/CawDKWOhOT</a></p>— Cumbria Roads Police (@CumbriaRoadsPol) <a href="https://twitter.com/CumbriaRoadsPol/status/897626787806683143">August 16, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1 lane closed, both ways <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/M6?src=hash">#M6</a> btwn J39 + J40 (nr, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Penrith?src=hash">#Penrith</a>) for ongoing HGV recovery. Extensive barrier damage following this collision. <a href="https://t.co/j2nDCD5qBW">pic.twitter.com/j2nDCD5qBW</a></p>— Highways England (@HighwaysNWEST) <a href="https://twitter.com/HighwaysNWEST/status/897691940363304960">August 16, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>