TWO people were taken to hospital after a crash between a lorry and four cars on the A35 which led to traffic gridlock around Dorchester.

It was one of three crashes reported in the Weymouth and Dorchester area in the space of a few hours yesterday. Emergency services worked in poor weather to treat those involved and recover vehicles.

The A35 was closed for two hours between the Stinsford Roundabout and the football ground roundabout following a crash which happened shortly before 1pm.

Another crash led to more disruption between Weymouth and Dorchester with three more people taken to hospital.

A police spokesman said that the crash on the A35 involved a lorry and four cars. It happened near the A352 junction.

The crash blocked the road, prompting police to close it at the Stinsford Roundabout.

Motorists were advised to avoid the area and there was extremely heavy traffic in and around Dorchester.

An ambulance service spokesman said there were two casualties. They both suffered minor injuries and were taken to Dorset County Hospital for treatment.

Firefighters from Dorchester and Weymouth attended but nobody was trapped. Crews helped to make the scene safe.

The road re-opened again around 3pm.

Heavy traffic built up on Bridport Road in the county town as well as on Weymouth Avenue.

The vehicles involved were a red Scania articulated lorry registered to a company from Devon, a grey Jaguar registered a man from Hampshire, a white Kia Sportage registered to a woman from Wareham and a white Vauxhall Astra registered to a man from Devon.

There was further disruption in the afternoon following a crash involving two cars on the A354 Weymouth Relief Road near the Jurassic Roundabout. Three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries and the road was closed in one direction for more than an hour.

The cars involved were a blue Ford Focus registered to a woman from Bridport and a black Mazda registered to a man from Wiltshire.

Three cars were involved in another crash around 9.30am on Weymouth Avenue in Dorchester.

The cars involved were a silver Citroen C5, registered to a man from Portland, a blue Volkswagen Passat registered to a man from Weymouth, and a black Ford Ka, registered to a man from Weymouth.

All vehicles required recovery with one leaking fuel which the fire service assisted with as well as making sure the scene was safe. Nobody was injured.