THE M4 has been closed after a pedestrian was killed by an Iceland lorry near Reading.

The lorry, driving eastbound between junctions 11 and 10 hit the pedestrian just before 3am on Tuesday, October 11.

The road reopened at 10.50am after motorists were trapped in stationary traffic for hours on end.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "The pedestrian died at the scene and the lorry driver is thought to be unhurt but suffering from shock.

"The road is closed and is expected to reopen later this morning."

The nearly seven-hour closure has seen all eastbound lanes shut and queuing traffic westbound from Maidenhead.

Inspecotr Andy Storey from roads policing said: “We would appeal to anyone who was driving on either the east or westbound carriageways of the M4 near Junction 11 at around 2.50am to contact Police as we are trying to determine the circumstances which led to a pedestrian being on the motorway.

“In addition there are ongoing enquiries to identify the pedestrian at this time.”

The road was closed for several hours as emergency services and the highways authority dealt with the incident  but has since been reopened.

Traffic backed up into central Reading as drivers tried to get around the road closure.

Highways England said: "The M4 in Berkshire was closed eastbound between J11 and J10, due to a serious collision.

"Thames Valley Police were managing this incident.

"A diversion was available for road users intending on using the closed section of motorway.

"Please note the diversion route uses single carriageway roads.

"Road users intending on using the diversion around the closure are advised the allow additional time to complete their journey."

A spokesperson from Iceland said: “We can confirm that an Iceland vehicle was involved in an incident on the M4 in the early hours of this morning which led to a fatality.

"Our thoughts are naturally with the family of the deceased at this very sad time and also with our driver. 

"We are unable to comment further until the police have completed their investigation into the incident.”