One resident described the scene as “absolute carnage”.

He said: “You could hear a helicopter through the night, it was very strange, I knew something big had happened as I’ve been stuck in the traffic.”

Another resident said she was in “disbelief” at seeing what had happened.

“I live round the corner and at 3am all we could hear was helicopters going around,” she said.

“I came down to see the crash this morning and I’m shock, disbelief, I just hope everyone’s OK.”

At about lunchtime, the damaged vehicles were being lifted on to low loaders and being removed.

A police detection dog was also sent into a black BMW which was wedged between the police cars.