AN HGV driver died after his lorry careered off the road onto the Wales Coastal footpath from the Prince of Wales Severn Bridge.

The man, named as 49-year-old Florin Marius Muntean from Romania, was driving westbound over the bridge into Wales when he crashed at about 10.30am last Wednesday (September 4) morning.

He was given CPR by a surgeon who saw the aftermath of the crash around 10.30am last Wednesday (September 4) and airlifted to hospital, but died in hospital from his injuries.

The bridge was fully reopened at 2.30am on Thursday, 16 hours after it had shut.

Cheltenham-based cancer surgeon Charlie Chan told the BBC: “I saw the lorry down the embankment, perched on the rocks so I parked up and ran down while calling 999.

"Two other guys, a former firefighter and an off-duty firefighter, were down there and we tried to get the driver out of his cab.

"But he was quite a big guy and we couldn’t lift him out. Initially he had a pulse but his heart stopped so we had to lay him down in the cab and perform CPR.

"I kept doing CPR for about five to six minutes until the air ambulance arrived and took over.

“Thankfully, after the medical team got the right kit and medicine to him, his heart restarted before he was flown to hospital."

But police said at about 3.30pm that the man had "sadly died of his injuries" after being flown to the University Hospital of Wales.

Traffic cameras from the scene showed that the lorry had careered off the motorway.

There was damage to the barrier at the side of the bridge as well as the central reservation yards beyond.

Highways England, which manages the bridge, said some 600m (1,950ft) of the central and nearside barriers were damaged in the crash.

Gwent Police said the lorry had "driven down the embankment and onto land alongside the M4 westbound at the end of the bridge."

The crash caused long delays both ways, and traffic rerouted over the old M48 bridge was also hit by roadworks and restrictions.

South Western Ambulance Service confirmed that one man had been taken to hospital by air ambulance.

Gwent Police appealed for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch with them.

A spokeswoman said: “Anyone with any information or anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has dash cam footage is urged to contact Gwent Police on 101 or Direct Message us on Facebook or Twitter, quoting log 129 04/09/19.”

The westbound carriageway was expected to be closed for the rest of the day and into the evening as officers dealt with the crash.

Shortly after the accident, the spokeswoman said: “Police officers, along with South Wales Ambulance Service, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Highways and the Heli-med are currently on the scene.

“We currently do not believe that any other motorists have been injured.”

Motorists approaching the bridge - between junction 22 and junction 23 on the M4 - were diverted to use the M48 Severn Bridge, but there were heavy delays travelling between south Wales and England.

There were also delays through Pwllmeyric as people sought an alternative route.