Ice brings chaos to Dorset's roads

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Icy roads caused traffic chaos across Bournemouth and Poole over the weekend !

Motorists are being warned the cold snap is set to continue over the next few days at least. Ice is already causing problems this morning, with one car overturning on the A357 at Sturminster Newton and another on the B3081 at Cranborne.

Two crashes, within minutes, on Bournemouth’s A338 Spur Road on Saturday morning closed both north and southbound carriageways until council gritters reached the scene and the road was closed again on Sunday morning after another collision.

In the first crash on Saturday a driver was lucky to escape unhurt after his vehicle skidded on the southbound carriageway of the Spur Road at around 9.15am. Another motorist involved in an accident on the same carriageway also escaped injury.

And another accident followed on the northbound carriageway at 9.26am.  The crashes happened between Blackwater Bridge and the Ashley Heath roundabout, leading to traffic snarl-ups. The road was closed until the gritters arrived and reopened just before 2pm. It closed again the following morning after a two-car accident at 8.15am on the northbound carriageway. It was reopened at 10am after gritters had been used.

There were equally severe problems in Poole where the A350 Upton bypass was closed for several hours. Two incidents occurred within 200m of each other, just before 10.40am westbound between Holes Bay and the Upton flyover. A female driver had to be cut free from her car after it hit the central reservation and rolled over several times. She was taken to Poole Hospital for a check up but escaped injury. That section of the bypass was then closed.

Another accident occurred on further towards the Bakers Arms roundabout on the same carriageway at 12.15pm. No one was injured in the two-car smash. Both sections of the Upton by-pass then remained closed until the gritters had attended. The road reopened at 3.15pm.

On Sunday there was a three-car crash in icy conditions on North Road, Poole, at around 11.45am. Three children were in one of the vehicles but no-one was hurt. Gritters were dispatched and the road reopened just after 1.30pm. Also on Saturday a car flipped on to its side near the A31 at Bere Regis just after 9.30am and an oil spill had to be cleaned up by firefighters. A broken down lorry on the A350 at Bozley Hill, Cann and ice on the A31 at West Moors also caused delays on Saturday morning. Emergency services were alerted following a collision on the slip road between Richmond Hill roundabout and the Cambridge Road roundabout, Bournemouth.

Dorset police said on Saturday there had been dozens of accidents as there was “literally ice everywhere” on the county’s roads. A spokesperson said no-one had been injured but many cars had suffered “severe damage”.

Following the coldest December in more than a decade, forecasters warned that the Arctic start to the new year is set to continue for the first half of the month with fresh snowfall, severe frosts and ice on the roads. Temperatures are forecast to fall as low as –6 degrees this week, with light snow showers predicted for Wednesday and Thursday. Motorists were warned to be on their guard against hazardous driving conditions as people head back to work after the long Christmas break.