Police have released details about why a major road in East Lancashire was closed for more than two hours on New Year's Day.

The A56 Accrington Bypass was closed on Monday (January 1) in both directions following a crash on the southbound carriageway between the M65 junction 8 and the A679 for Huncoat. 

The incident was first reported at 4pm, and traffic was coping well, with National Highways saying the road was re-opened at around 6pm.

While it's believed the crash was a "non-injury road traffic collision", the road needed to be closed due to some damage to the central barrier and an oil spill.

It is still not clear how many vehicles were involved in the incident.

A spokesperson for the police said on Monday: "This is a non-injury RTC. The road is closed due to damage to the central barrier and oil spilt in the collision."

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, at around 6.20pm last night, National Highways wrote: "The A56 southbound between the M65 J8 and the A679 #Huncoat is now fully open. Thanks for being patient."