Firefighters' job made 'more dangerous' by drivers travelling 'at speed' near A3(M) car fire

The A3(M) southbound approach to the junction 5 roundabout, near Bedhampton.

Fire crews from Havant and Petersfield fire stations attended a Mercedes on fire on the hard shoulder of the A3(M), close to the Bedhampton roundabout at 8.20am.

Police closed the southbound lane of the road just before the junction 5 entrance.

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Crew manager Ben Holt said: ‘The car suffered a 100 per cent burn out.

‘We would like to remind drivers to drivers to slow down.

‘There were drivers passing us at speed.

‘It makes our job more dangerous.’

The lane has now re-opened.

A driver who passed the scene at 8.40am said: ‘I joined at Purbrook and cars were at a standstill.

‘All you could see was blue lights and a big cloud of smoke, then more police cars and fire engines came speeding down the hard shoulder.

‘When we finally started moving, we saw the car fire being put out.

‘I just hope no one was hurt.’

The male driver of the car was uninjured and there was no immediate explanation for the fire, according to the firefighter.

It took fire crews more than an hour to tackle the blaze – with their job being made more difficult by passing drivers.