POLICE today renewed an appeal for witnesses after a series of traffic incidents on the A34 led to a man being killed, a number of people being injured and a chemical spillage.

At 2.33am yesterday, a black Vauxhall Corsa left the road on the southbound carriageway near Drayton. A 20-year-old man from South Wales but working in Oxfordshire, was killed and three other passengers - two women and a man - were taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, with minor injuries.

Shortly afterwards, a lorry and a breakdown truck transporting a blue Hyundai collided.

Police said it was not yet clear if the collision was as a result of the tailback from the original incident.

The 46-year-old lorry driver received serious head injuries and was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

The breakdown truck driver and his passenger, the driver of the Hyundai, were treated for minor injuries at the hospital and released soon after.

At about 3.40am, hydrochloric acid started to leak from another lorry in the tailback on to the carriageway; this vehicle was not involved in any collision. The spillage was dealt with by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue.

The southbound carriageway was closed between the Marcham Interchange and Didcot until 10.20am.

Sgt Kerry Clarke of Abingdon Road Policing said: "This was a complex operation that led to the A34 being closed in one direction for nearly eight hours.

"A young man has been left dead and a number of others injured so we need to speak to anyone who saw either incident to contact us and help with our investigations."

The Roads Policing team can be contacted via the Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505.

If you do not want to talk to police and do not want to leave your name, call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.