A FATHER-OF-TWO died after his car smashed into a barrier on the M65 – causing a pile-up involving an ambulance with a patient on board and three other vehicles.

Mark Burgess, 39, was thrown from his Citroen Saxo when it crashed near junction eight on the westbound carriageway.

Two Ford Kas and an MG ZR flipped onto their roofs and an ambulance taking a patient to hospital was also badly damaged after ploughing into the Saxo and debris on the road at around 10.55pm on Saturday.

The police helicopter was also scrambled to make sure all casualties were accounted for.

After receiving emergency treatment at the scene, Mr Burgess, from Burnley, but who lived in Abbey Village, near Belmont, was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, but died of multiple injuries.

A witness said the motorway was in complete darkness at the time of the incident.

Just hours before the crash, Mr Burgess, who is understood to have been a lorry driver, posted several emotional messages on his Facebook page.

Police said the posts would form part of their investigation.

Mr Burgess’s son and daughter Matthew and Hayley paid tribute to their father.

In a joint statement, they said: “We may not have been as close as most families, but at the end of the day he was still our dad.

“Our dad loved socialising and liked spending time with his close friends, if he wasn't driving lorries.

“He shouldn't have gone the way he did, rest in peace.”

Mr Burgess, of Bolton Road, is also understood to have been a grandfather.

His family is now being supported by a police liaison officer.

Kelly Wrightson, who works in the Hare and Hounds pub, in Abbey Village, said Mr Burgess was a ‘lovely guy’.

She said: “He would come in quite regularly and have a few drinks.

“He was always kind to me and never gave anyone any grief.

“He was a really nice man and I am really shocked about what has happened.”

The motorway was closed until around 11.30am yesterday (Sun) for accident investigation work and to remove debris from the road.

Zoe Holmes, who was travelling on the M65 just after the crash happened, said: “We arrived just after the first ambulance arrived and assisted with blocking the road so fire crews could get through. It was mayhem.

“Paramedics and doctors were on the scene within about 10 minutes, the first fire engine arrived at about 11.20pm.

“There were paramedics and doctors running all over.

“The fire crews were going along the embankment with torches looking for anyone thrown from cars.

“The road was in complete darkness as the street lights were off.

“If they were on, this accident could probably have been prevented.”

Crew manager Liam Barker, from Hyndburn Fire Station, said five fire crews as well as police and paramedics were at the scene.

Mr Barker said: “When we arrived, there were a number of cars on their roofs and the ambulance was smashed up.

“It was mayhem and there were bits of cars all over the place.

“We found one male casualty on the embankment being given first aid by paramedics and the remainder of the people were out of their cars.

“We spent several hours on the scene making sure that no casualties were on the embankments.

“The length of the incident spread 400 metres from the bridge of junction eight right the way through to where the slip road appears.

“We are unsure about what happened, but we think a car hit something causing the airbag to deploy.

“When the car crashed, there was debris on the road causing other cars to collide.”

Sgt Mick Young, of the road policing unit, said: “This is a tragic incident in which a man has lost his life.

“An investigation is under way and I would appeal to anybody that witnessed this collision to contact Lancashire Police on 101."