Two people have died after a cattle lorry, tanker and a car were involved in a “horrendous smash” on a road bridge in Shropshire.

The drivers of the cattle truck and a silver Mercedes E200 estate car died at the scene of the accident on the A5/A483 Chirk bypass yesterday. A third person involved suffered head injuries but declined hospital treatment.

Cows in the double deck cattle lorry fell to their deaths when the vehicle came to a halt hanging over the bridge 100 feet above the River Ceiriog. Another of the cattle had to be shot at the scene.

Richard Ewels, West Mercia police spokesman, said today it had been a “horrendous impact” and added the road bridge could be closed until tomorrow while it was made safe and repairs were carried out after the accident at 4.25pm.

The bypass was closed between the Gledrid and Halton roundabouts causing massive tailbacks as traffic was diverted through the town of Chirk.

A farmer who had been working on land underneath the viaduct minutes before the cows, steel girders and lorry’s fuel tank fell onto the fields, said it was an utter miracle that no vehicles went over the bridge in the crash.

Mr Charles Evans, who had been working on the land he rents below, said: “I realised the traffic had stopped on the bridge and when I walked close to have a look I realised the back of the lorry was hanging over the bridge and one of the cows was running around the bridge.

“People were shouting over for me to check to see if anyone had fallen off the bridge. I walked across the field and saw three dead cows that must have fallen to their deaths.

“It is an utter miracle that none of the vehicles fell over the bridge. The lorry’s fuel tank and steel girders from the bridge had fallen, just feet from where I had been working the land with the tractor half an hour earlier.”

Another tenant on the Bryn Kinalt estate went to help Mr Evans search the land below the bridge.

He said that about 30 cows remained inside the lorry, kept in by the internal gates.

Mr Ewels said: “The names of the two men who died are unlikely to be released today.”

By Sue Austin