A MAN from Ringwood was killed when his car ploughed into the back of a parked lorry near the town in the early hours of yesterday.

The smash caused a long stretch of the westbound A31 to be closed during the morning rush hour and led to traffic chaos around the area.

The crash happened at Poulner Hill at 2.30am and police closed the road from junction two of the M27 up to the Ashley Heath interchange – around 17 miles in total.

The BMW, being driven by a 53-year-old Ringwood man, crashed into the back of the foreign-registered Scania lorry, which was parked in the layby past Burley services.

The driver has not yet been identified.

Eyewitnesses described how parts of the car were left embedded in the lorry, while the BMW itself finished up some way down the road.

Fire crews from Ringwood, Burley and St Mary’s in Southampton were called to the scene and police had to turn around a tail-back of vehicles back to Picket Post.

Both lanes going west were closed until mid-morning, when police managed to reopen one to allow traffic to start to pass the scene.

Roads around the area were heavily congested as drivers took alternative routes and the eastbound carriageway of the A31 slowed due to onlookers.

The road was fully reopened at around 1pm after recovery work was completed.

John Hendy, 65, from Weymouth, was driving his son to Gatwick and went past the crash scene. He said: “It was on the other side of the road and I saw three police cars hurtling past. On the way back to Bournemouth at 6am I got on to the M27 from the M3 and then I was diverted off after Southamp-ton.

“I was diverted off and had to go past Beaulieu and Cadnam.

“There was a stream of traffic but at that time there wasn’t a big build-up of traffic.”

Anyone with information on the crash should contact Hampshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit on 101, quoting Operation Rydale, or the Crimestoppers charity, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.