M27 locked down both ways as police hunt wanted man

Overnight drivers between junction 5 and 7 on Hampshire’s major motorway were forced to divert following the protracted incident from 1.45am to 5am.

It led to a 36-year-old man from Lancashire being arrested following an alleged assault around 1am in Allington Lane, a road close to Southampton Airport.

National Highways had alerted drivers that Hampshire police were managing an “incident” before the motorway was finally reopened in time for morning rush hour.

The force has revealed there was no police chase resulting in the motorway being shut down and the man detained. A spokesperson said: “The motorway was closed between junctions 5 and 7 between 1.45am and 5am while police arrested a 36-year-old man from Brierfield, Lancashire, on suspicion of assault, in relation to an incident that occurred just before 1am at an address on Allington Lane.”