TWO Burnley men injured in the M6 smash on Friday in which a man was killed are recovering today in Royal Preston Hospital.

Wayne Cole, 22, of Oxford Road, suffered head injuries in the accident but was described by staff at the hospital as 'stable and improving'.

David Wood, 30, of Olympia Street, is also at Royal Preston Hospital where his condition is said to be 'stable and comfortable' after he suffered injuries to his hand and arm.

Both men were travelling in a Ford Transit van southbound near junction 28 around 6.30am when, police say, their van was hit by an articulated lorry which sent both vehicles careering through the central reservation into the path of oncoming Traffic.

The van hit a concrete barrier and the lorry ended up straddled across all three lanes of the northbound carriageway. Wayne and David, who are building and maintenance workers, were on their way to work.

Jean McKavett, Wayne's mum, said: "He is progressing and the swelling around his head has gone down but he has still got a lot of cuts and bruises on his face. His speech is still slurred yet as well but he knows who we are. He can't remember much about the accident.

"David, who is my daughter Angie's partner, has got his hand and arm in pins. He has to have another operation on his hand."

The driver of the lorry, a 38-year-old man from Bootle, Merseyside, died and two other people were slightly injured.

Traffic was brought to a standstill for around six hours with queues of up to 20 miles.

Jean said: "I've seen photographs of the accident and there's nothing left of the van. They were both very lucky."