A lorry which crashed, causing major delays for commuters, has been recovered.

The incident took place on Monday morning.

The collision was between a a lorry and a car on the A31 eastbound at about 3am near Bratley Arch.

The lorry came off the road, crashed through a fence and ended up on its side in a hedge.

One lane was closed eastbound for several hours and there were delays stretching back to Ashley Heath.

Paramedics were called to treat five people at the scene.

Fortunately, no one required hospital treatment, the South Central Ambulance Service spokesman said, and that some only suffered minor shock.

A spokesperson for Hampshire police confirmed that the road was fully reopened at 6.34am.

However, one commuter, Nick Walton, said it took him an hour and a half to travel from Bournemouth to Romsey, as there were still lane closure signs in place long after the road reopened.

He said it caused “tailbacks for miles”.

“Everyone was moving to the right hand side and there was nothing there,” he said. “I didn’t even know that there had been a crash. Everyone was following instructions and then it seemed to be a complete waste of time.”

The road was closed again around 11.30pm to allow for the vehicle to be recovered.

The road was closed for most of the early hours of this morning and reopened at about 5.30am