A forklift truck fell off the back of a lorry after it crashed into a railway bridge this morning.

Southampton Road - A337 - in Lymington was closed in both directions after the incident between B3054 Marsh Lane and Boldre Lane, at Passford Hill.

Police were directing traffic away from the scene and motorists faced delays of up to 45 minutes in both directions following the crash, which happened at 10.16am.

No-one was injured in the incident.

Engineers from Network Rail inspected the bridge for damage and staff from Hampshire County Council were also there to help remove the fork lift truck.

The truck was removed and the road fully reopened by 12.25pm.

Tim Ball, who runs Party Tub Hire at Ampress Business Park said traffic had backed up all the way to Lymington town centre.

He said: “Something like a fork lift truck has come off the low loader right under the bridge.

“It's slipped off the flatbed truck which was on the carriageway going out of Lymington. It's right underneath the bridge right next to the island by the entrance to Lymington hospital and the industrial estate.

“The piece of machinery fell off the flatbed into the verge. It hasn't fallen into the incoming traffic.

 “It's going to be there for quite a while. I think it's going to need lifting equipment to get it back up.”

Daily Echo:

Shannon Van Dreven, 36, a sales rep at Howdens from Lymington, said: “It's been there for at least an hour.

“Accidents happen quite regularly at that bridge. A lot of lorries tend to hit it.

“We had people coming in for an appointment here at 11am but they weren't able to arrive until 11.30am. If they faced those kind of delays I'm sure it's happened to other people and we have a hospital here too.”