POLICE have revealed that an incident which left drivers stranded on a Hampshire motorway for more than 11 hours over the weekend was the second in a many weeks.

The M3 near Winchester was closed in both directions on Saturday as police and bomb disposal experts examined a “potentially hazardous material” that was found in the carriageway between junctions 9 and 11.

Officers later revealed that the drama had been caused by nothing more dangerous than a piece of flammable material thrown from a bridge in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Now Hampshire Constabulary has confirmed that a similar incident happened on the same motorway bridge at about 4am on Saturday, September 16, the week before.

A police spokesman said: “Officers are aware of, and are investigating, a similar incident which took place on the same bridge last week, at around 4am on Saturday, September 16.

“In this incident, an object was dropped into the carriageway and we received further reports that something was alight in the same location. Officers attended and found a quantity of broken glass but no fire.

“A lane one closure was put in place for a very short time to allow the debris to be cleared. No-one was hurt.

“We know that a lot of people use this route at that time as part of their daily routine, and we urge anyone who witnessed either of these incidents, or who has any information, to contact police immediately on 101.”

Warnings were issued by Highways England but motorists caught up in the chaos described the organisation’s response to the incident as “too little, too late”.

Many said they were already approaching the Winchester section of the M3 when they learned that the road ahead was shut, with Winchester MP Steve Brine adding: “Saturday’s incident was a nightmare.

“I’m asking Highways England for a full explanation of how they handled the closure.”

A Highways England spokesman said: “As soon as we were made aware of the incident we set strategic signs and signals informing drivers of the closure.”

It said it used Twitter, the Traffic England website and bulletins on radio to alert drivers.

Police have apologised for the 11-hour closure.

The county’s former police and crime commissioner Simon Hayes has been critical of how the force responded, accusing it of not fully explaining why drivers were trapped for so long.

Supt Simon Dodds said an investigation was underway into how information was given to the public.

He said: “We had to establish what the substance was to make sure it is safe, and that is against the background of the backdrop of the current terror threat assessment in the UK is at the moment, which is severe.

We recognise it caused significant disruption for people caught in the traffic - we really do apologise.”

Meanwhile Marwell Wildlife, based near the M3 in Colden Common, has said anyone who had a booking for Saturday and missed out due to the congestion can visit with the original booking until Sunday.