TRAM services have been getting back to normal following delays caused by a van which earlier had crashed through a brick wall and onto the tram tracks.

The crash which occurred last night forced the suspension of Metrolink services between Altrincham and the city centre.

The accident caused the van to drop on to the track north of the Brooklands stop and damaged overhead lines and blocking trams in both directions.

A spokesman for Transport for Greater Manchester said this morning: “The vehicle has now been cleared from the tracks and services on the Altrincham line have now resumed.

“However, some delays will remain until the full service has been restored and the bus replacement service will remain in place until then.”

Engineers were on site overnight assessing the damage to the line and working to resolve any issues and a crane was used to remove the vehicle.

Danny Vaughan, head of Metrolink at TfGM, said: “It appears a van has gone through a brick wall and dropped onto the Metrolink tracks just north of the Brooklands stop, damaging the overhead lines and blocking both the inbound and outbound tracks.”