The lorry driver was badly hurt in the accident, which happened close to Birmingham's NEC, just before 1800 GMT on Sunday.

Firefighters were affected by fumes from the leaking chemicals as they cut the driver free.

A Central Motorway Police Group spokesman said the Dutch-registered lorry contained 33,000 litres of styrene monomer and that a 300-metre cordon was set up around the vehicle.

Protection suits

The chemical was described by a fire service spokesman as "highly toxic, narcotic and very flammable".

Birmingham International airport was closed to all inbound flights for 45 minutes because of the crash, with flights diverted to Manchester, East Midlands and Coventry airports.

Firefighters wearing chemical protection suits worked through the night to clear the crash site on the hard shoulder of the motorway's southbound carriageway, between junctions five and six.

The M42 was closed for several hours, reopening northbound at 0630 GMT on Monday.

It was open to traffic in both directions by 0730 GMT.

None of the firefighters was seriously injured and all were discharged on Sunday night after precautionary checks.