South Yorkshire Police said a black Audi A3 left the M1 northbound carriageway at junction 34, before crashing into a road sign on Sheffield Road and ending up in the canal.

Two of the people inside the Audi were pulled from the car by members of the public, and a further two people were rescued by police officers.

A statement from the force said: “The driver, a 30-year-old man, was taken to hospital with serious injuries, where he remains this morning. The front seat passenger, a 31-year-old woman, was also taken to hospital but was released a short time later.

A road close to Sheffield's Tinlsey Viaduct is closed this morning after a car reportedly crashed into the nearby canal last night.

“An investigation is now underway and we are looking to speak to any witnesses or anyone who witnessed the vehicle prior to the collision. We’re particularly keen to hear from anyone with dash cam footage of either the incident or vehicle prior.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident number 1028 of June 5. Dashcam and video footage can be sent to [email protected] with the incident number in the subject line.

Hero members of public save people from car which crashed on M1 and ended up in a canal