A lorry driver has died in a crash, becoming the fourth fatality on a motorway in less than 24 hours.

The 42-year-old man was driving a light goods vehicle that was involved in a collision with a BMW car on the M74 near Lesmahagow at around 6.25pm on Thursday.

The lorry then left the carriageway and overturned, and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 36-year-old man driving the BMW was not injured.

He has been arrested and charged in connection with alleged road traffic offences and will appear in court at a later date.

The motorway was closed for several hours to allow for crash scene investigation work.

Police are appealing for information about the incident.

A police spokesman said: “An investigation is under way to establish the circumstances of the collision.

“Officers are appealing for any witnesses or anyone who has any information to contact them.

“In particular, if you have a dashcam, please check your footage as you could have captured information on the vehicles which could assist in the investigation. ”

The crash on the northbound carriageway came less than 24 hours after two fatal crashes farther south.

Craig McLaren, 22, a soldier in the British Army, was driving a car that crashed on the southbound carriageway of the A74(M) near Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway, shortly after 9pm on Wednesday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

An 18-year-old man in the car was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, while two female passengers, aged 16 and 19, were taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.

In a separate incident nine hours later, two people died in a crash around six miles away on the same motorway.

A 57-year-old man driving a van and his 17-year-old male passenger were pronounced dead at the scene following the collision near Kirkpatrick-Fleming at around 6.15am on Thursday.

The vehicle was involved in a crash with an articulated lorry on the northbound carriageway between junctions 20 and 21.

The lorry driver was unhurt.