POLICE and council officers closed off part of a busy Poole dual carriageway yesterday morning – so Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson could blow up a car.

The eastbound slip road of the A35 Blandford/Upton bypass was cordoned off to allow Clarkson, co-star Richard Hammond and their Top Gear crew to film excerpts for the new series of the hit BBC show.

Motorists reported seeing marked and unmarked Dorset Police cars at the roundabout – but yesterday the force refused to confirm how many officers assisted in the traffic order.

Having spent yesterday visiting the sights in Christchurch and West-bourne, the Top Gear team took their modified Fiat Multipla stunt car to the A35 to film it travelling the wrong way down the slip road before being blown up.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said police officers were assisting Dorset County Council traffic management team with a rolling roadblock – under 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation (Special Event) Act 1994.

The spokesperson added: “The police were assisting the council with their temporary traffic order.

“We never comment on resourcing issues for operational purposes.”

In a statement Dorset County Council said: “We were approached by the Top Gear production team who wanted to carry out some filming on a slip road off a main route in Dorset.

“We arranged for them to use the eastbound slip road from the Upton Bypass onto the A350, which was the least busy option available.

“The road was closed on Friday October 19 from 9.15am for around two hours, out of the rush hour period, to minimise disruption and allow filming to take place.”

Clarkson and Hammond visited a number of local attractions on Thursday including One Stop in Barrack Road and the Club Grand Bingo in Poole Road, Westbourne, in their modified Fiat which featured a huge over-sized bumper at the front, a and a little tray with a toy car on the roof.

The cat was later replaced with a small wooden cross.

Clarkson Left Holding The Baby

YOU might not imagine that television’s famously outspoken grump Jeremy Clarkson would be the baby cuddling type – and judging by this photo you’d be right!

The Top Gear presenter, who was in the area filming an episode of the show with Richard Hammond, was spotted in Westbourne by mum Liz Frampton on Thursday afternoon.

She seized the opportunity to grab a quick photo of him with her six-month-old daughter Caitlin as the celebrity pair sat in their modified Fiat Multipla.

Liz told the Echo they were “more than polite” and agreed to pose for the snap.

“You’ve got to take these opportunities haven’t you!” she added.

She said she planned to add the photo to her daughter’s baby album.

“Hopefully she might appreciate it when she’s a little bit older.”