COMMUTERS faced long delays this morning after a spate of incidents heading out of Bournemouth.

At the foot of Poulner Hill a broken-down lorry blocked one eastbound lane of the A31, while slightly further on, a car fire blocked the same lane.

Motorists were faced delays of over an hour as a result of the fire, with traffic at a standstill to Ashley Heath and beyond.

Drivers coming from Bournemouth were then caught in further delays after a two-car crash was on the northbound carriageway of the A338 Spur Road.

The two-car 'shunt' northbound near the interchange was blocking the outside lane.

No injuries were reported but delays quickly built, with those attempting to travel from Bournemouth towards Southampton caught in the queues.

And traffic tailed halfway back along the Spur Road as drivers attempted to get to work.

Those stuck in the chaos reported 'gridlock'.

A spokesperson from the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Firefighters were called out to a car on fire.

"Initially, this incident was believed to involve a lorry. However, the fire was in the engine compartment of a car."

She said the fire was small and quickly extinguished by firefighters.