DRIVERS were plunged into traffic chaos after a lorry full of baby products crashed - leaving a major commuter route closed for almost a whole day.

The 40-tonne truck, carrying Johnson & Johnson baby oil, crashed on the A339 near Kingsclere as it was travelling towards Newbury at about 11pm on Tuesday.

The vehicle hit a tree, overturned and rolled down an embankment.

The incident left the road closed in both directions at the junctions for Wolverton and Kingsclere and led to a complicated rescue operation to free the injured 40-year-old driver, who was trapped by his legs inside his cab.

A clear-up operation meant the road stayed shut until 7pm on Wednesday.

All three emergency services - plus doctors from the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) - attended the scene.

Laura Small, head of marketing and communications at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "A male casualty was trapped inside the lorry cab.

"Firefighters using specialist hydraulic rescue equipment worked alongside ambulance paramedics and BASICS doctors to successfully release the casualty.

"Crews were at the scene for about four hours performing the rescue and making the scene safe."

The driver suffered minor leg and shoulder injuries and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Dr Howard Simpson, one of the four-person BASICS team which attended the scene of the crash, said: "It was potentially a very serious incident due to the complex and prolonged extraction."

Lengthy jams built up during the morning and evening rush hours on Wednesday, particularly at the crossroads in the centre of Overton.

Drivers were directed along the B3051 through Overton and then into Basingstoke along the B3400.

Hampshire County Council said the road remained closed for as long as extensive repairs had to be carried out to the surface, which had been damaged by the crash.

The lorry involved in the incident belongs to James Irlam and Sons Limited, a contractor used by Johnson & Johnson, which has a depot at the West Ham Industrial Estate, in Basingstoke.

Staff at the lorry company declined to comment about the incident.

First published: Friday, March 25, 2005