A MULTIPLE accident on the fog-bound M4 near Swindon caused rush hour havoc for drivers this morning. Up to 10 vehicles were involved in the smash, which happened on the eastbound carriageway towards London just after junction 15.

Police, fire and ambulance services from Swindon attended the crash, which initially blocked all three lanes of the motorway and caused queues of more than six miles stretching back towards Chippenham.

The situation was made worse by the fog, which restricted visibility and made driving conditions difficult.

The accident happened after a Seat Inca van was struck in the fast lane.

The van was badly damaged and the driver had to be cut free by firefighters.

The collision, at around 7.20am, started a chain of shunts that involved nine other vehicles and blocked the entire motorway for much of the rush hour.

Sergeant Ken Godfrey, of Swindon police, said: "A long traffic tailback built up on the Swindon section of the motorway, from junction 15 towards junction 16.

"The driver who was removed from the van was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital. He is thought have suffered spinal injuries."

The other accidents on the M4 were thought to be minor and none of the drivers involved were seriously injured.

Sgt Godfrey said motorway signs warning drivers approaching the scene were illuminated within two minutes of the accident.

Amanda Buckley, of AA Roadwatch, said traffic was very congested around junction 15 but traffic in the slow lane was moving shortly after the accident.

Roads surrounding junction 15 at Commonhead were also congested, as police blocked access to the M4 eastbound.

Traffic built up around the new hospital on the A419, the A4259 Marlborough Road towards Swindon, and the A346 towards Marlborough.

Today's accident was the latest in a string to affect the M4 around Swindon.

Only last month the motorway was the scene of six accidents near the Swindon section in little more than a week.

Police say the most common causes of accidents and serious injuries are excess speed and not wearing seatbelts.

One accident in September, involving a Citroen Xantia towing a caravan, blocked the motorway for two hours. A 67-year-old man from Wokingham was taken to hospital with a minor head injury. His female passenger was unhurt.

In another accident a black Ford Focus lost control travelling westbound and collided with the central reservation four miles west of junction 16.

And a few days before that, a lorry overturned just past junction 15 westbound, killing driver Raymond Whiddet, 61, of Hertfordshire.

In separate accidents the same day, another lorry overturned after hitting the hard shoulder between junctions 16 and 17 westbound near Chippenham, a Nissan car crashed on to the hard shoulder near junction 16 eastbound and a Peugeot car towing a caravan jack-knifed onto the central reservation after being involved in a collision with a chemical tanker near junction 16.