TWO people died in a five-car pile-up after a car drove the wrong way along a motorway.

The M4's eastbound carriageway was completely blocked following the crash, which happened west of Membury services near Swindon today (Wednesday).

Fire crews were called to the scene from Stratton, Westlea and Ramsbury. They were joined by the other emergency services, including the Wiltshire Police helicopter.

Early reports suggested that a car travelling into the face of eastbound traffic sparked the lunchtime accident, which involved five other vehicles, one of them a lorry.

Wiltshire police spokesman Sgt Ken Godfrey said: "We have an unconfirmed report of two fatalities and a number of injuries.

"At about noon, we had a report of a vehicle heading the wrong way on the M4 heading west on the eastbound side.

"Subsequently, several vehicles were involved in a collision between Swindon and Membury services. All three lanes are currently blocked."

Within half an hour, the carriageway was closed at Junction 15 the Swindon exit and the closure was later extended to Junction 16.

Sgt Godfrey said the carriageway was not expected to reopen until around 6pm.