A TRUCK driver remains seriously ill in hospital after his vehicle went down an embankment on the A1 motorway in County Durham.

Shortly after 3pm on Wednesday a DAF curtain-sided lorry heading north on the A1(M) between junctions 59 and 60, near Coatham Mundeville, left the road and came to rest in a field.

The driver, of Fenham, Newcastle, is thought to have been taken ill at the wheel and received medical treatment initially from road policing officers and then paramedics working alongside Great North Air Ambulance staff.

He was flown to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where he arrived in a critical condition.

Police yesterday described the 64-year-old’s condition as “very poorly”

The northbound carriageway was closed for around 90 minutes as a result of the crash while the southbound carriageway was closed to allow the air ambulance to land.

Police are appealing for any witnesses who may have seen the incident or the white and blue truck at any point before leaving the road to contact non-emergency 101.