Bin lorry crash leads to major traffic congestion

Only one northbound lane of the M2 – which runs between Newtownabbey and north Belfast – was running as of about 6pm.

Southbound lanes were not affected.

There were no injuries reported.

However, police said there was “serious traffic congestion” as a consequence of the lane closures.

Further lanes have since opened up, and as of around 6.35pm a traffic update service run by the Department for Regional Development had said: “Belfast: I know its still bad out there but from what we can see on the cameras its improving on most routes.”

It happened between York Street and Fortwilliam in north Belfast.