UPDATE: Huge delays as lorry crashes on its side on M27

All lanes of the M27 eastbound between junction 11 for Fareham and 12 for Portsmouth have been re-opened following the Boarhunt vehicle jack-knifing.

Sgt David Sanderson said the specialist vehicle jack-knifed at 1.48pm following a mechanical fault.

He said: ‘It was the skill of the driver that prevented serious injury and he’s to be commended for his driving.

‘It’s nearly 40 tonnes of metal travelling at speed – that could have been a very, very serious incident.

‘The driver is clearly suffering from shock.’

Sgt Sanderson said there were no reports of problems with the man’s driving and no offences had been disclosed.

And he thanked people for the patience during the traffic chaos.

He added: ‘Police received a 999 call at 1.48pm.

‘A tow truck has jack-knifed and gone all across all lanes of the motorway.

‘This was a non-injury accident collision.

‘There was a mechanical malfunction on the towing truck.

‘There was a colossal amount of oil that had escaped from the vehicle.’

Highways Agency staff and police were also tending to broken down vehicles in hard shoulder.

Two cranes were needed to right the bin lorry in the recovery.

Lanes one and two were shut for more than two hours until the motorway was re-opened at 4.11pm.