A LORRY driver suffered serious injuries after colliding with a tree on the A35 near Bere Regis.

Police were called to the incident involving a white lorry at 4.18am this morning.

It is believed the driver hit a tree after colliding with a deer. The man suffered serious injuries and was taken to Poole Hospital.

Fire crews were called at 4.23am and appliances from Bere Regis, Blandford and Poole attended the incident and extracted the driver of a HGV.

Teams from Knighton Countryside Management worked to clear the debris so the road could be re-opened.

Director Mark Gibbens was on site within 30 minutes of the call.

He said: “The lorry has gone into one largish tree, destroying it completely, and seriously damaged two others. All three of these need to be made safe and a considerable amount of mud and debris cleared before traffic can come through again.”

Knighton have two teams on site and a third on the way from their depot in Piddlehinton.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “A section of the A35 at Bere Regis has been closed this morning following a single-vehicle road traffic collision. The road is closed between Bere Regis and Woodbury Cross and motorists are being advised to use alternative routes.

“At around 4.18am today, Wednesday 11 May 2016, Dorset Police were called to reports that a white box van lorry, registered to a company from Poole, had collided with a tree. The fire and ambulance service also attended.

“The male driver has been taken to Poole Hospital with serious injuries.”

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: “We were called at 4.15am to reports a lorry had hit a deer."

There was one male casualty with leg injuries. He was trapped and was taken to Poole Hospital. We sent two crews and an officer.

“There is nothing to suggest his injuries are life-threatening. The casualty was conscious.”

David Bell, a lorry driver parked at the Shell garage, said: “The traffic has been a bit manic this morning. The road has been closed for a long time. I hope the man is okay and recovers quickly. The roads round here are really dark and I think quite dangerous at night. There should be some street lights which stay on in my opinion.”

Another driver, Stan Fenton, who lives in Weymouth and works in Bournemouth, said traffic had been “quite bad” yesterday morning. He said: “It’s put my travel time back quite a bit, there is a lot of traffic backing up at the Shell roundabout and the weather isn’t helping. I hope the man involved in the crash is okay.”

The road was reopened just before 2pm.