A PENSIONER is lucky to be alive after driving his car the wrong way down a Hampshire motorway.

The elderly man, from the Gosport area, was involved in a head-on collision after taking a wrong turn and hurtling down the fast lane of the busy M275.

Eventually his Ford Fiesta crashed head-on with a Peugeot on the flyover at the Rudmore roundabout in Portsmouth.

Fire crews said he had joined the northbound carriageway at the nearby J&J junction before the collision took place on Friday at 11.30pm. Neither of the drivers was seriously hurt, although the elderly man was treated in hospital for suspected spinal injuries. Both cars were severely damaged.

The road was closed while emergency services worked at the scene. Police have not made any arrests.