Prosecco flows down M4 motorway after double lorry crash

Prosecco is flowing down a motorway after a lorry crash on the M4.

A HGV carrying 20 tonnes of Italian sparkling white wine had its container ripped open on one side, leaving broken glass bottles and drink across the Berkshire motorway.

The road was closed for seven hours as the mess was cleared on Monday.

Thames Valley Police said the scene as ‘not quite the roadside refreshment anyone had in mind’.

One person was injured after the lorries smashed into each other between junction 13 for the Chieveley Interchange and 14 for Hungerford at about 7.30am.

The westbound lanes were closed until after 3pm to allow the lorries to be recovered off the road.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it sent crews from Newbury, Theale and Caversham Road to the scene.

‘No people were trapped but firefighters provided immediate emergency care to one person with minor injuries.

‘Firefighters were on the scene for about one hour and 10 minutes before handing over to National Highways.

Thames Valley Police said one lorry ‘partially lifted off the ground’ in the smash, which resulted in a ‘complex’ rescue operation.

National Highways said its traffic officers were also on scene assisting with traffic management.

The agency said one of the lorries had its trailer ‘detach from the cab’.

‘The trailer is on top of the nearside barrier and there is a significant amount of debris in the carriageway,’ it said.

It added the road was closed for several hours while the ‘protracted recovery and clean up works’ took place.

Where does Prosecco come from?

Prosecco originally came from a town in Italy called (you guessed it) Prosecco.

The town is a suburb of Trieste, a port city in the northeast of Italy and has close ties to Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

Because of the close proximity to these other countries, Prosecco’s name is actually not Italian, but Slovenian.

It comes from prozek, meaning ‘path through the woods.’