Your summary of the top five stories everyone has been reading on the Daily Echo website today.

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1. Total traffic madness as drivers stuck for three hours in gridlock

MOTORISTS are furious after being trapped for up to THREE hours in traffic madness this morning.

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2. Mum says plea for help for son who died when he plunged in front of train fell on deaf ears

A Hampshire mother has criticised mental health staff after she pleaded for help for her mentally ill son, who died when he plunged in front of a train.

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3. Teen barricades himself in bedroom during truancy blitz

FOUR children caught wagging school got the shock of their lives when officers arrived at their homes to escort them into class as part of a truancy sweep across Southampton.

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4. Southampton and Portsmouth to merge councils?

A GIANT new authority representing more than a million people in Hampshire could have the power to create thousands of new jobs and homes across the Solent.

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5. £11m drugs haul is biggest ever by Hampshire police

ONE OF Hampshire's largest ever drugs seizures, worth a street value of over £11m -  has resulted in seven people being charged.

Daily Echo: Charged with possession and intent to supply heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis