A broken down lorry is blocking a busy junction after the load it was carrying shifted. 

The incident has happened on the A354 Rodwell Road (Boot Hill) near Weymouth town centre at the junction with Franchise Street and Wyke Road. 

Police said they were called at 4.10pm to reports of a single vehicle incident. 

A spokesman from Dorset Police said: "There is a lorry carrying a load which has shifted. 

"The incident happened at the junction with Wyke Road and Franchise Street."

The spokesman added the lorry was blocking four lanes of traffic and both the lorry and its load would have to be recovered before the road could reopen. 

Police at the scene said the load had shifted forward, hitting the back of the lorry cab and the vehicle had "essentially crashed into itself." 

Police have closed Rodwell Road and are directing traffic up  Chickerell Road. 

The road northbound is still open but police are managing traffic around the lorry. 

Motorists are warned there will be significant delays and are being advised to avoid the Boot Hill area.

Efforts are underway to recover the lorry but the road closures are causing considerable congestion.

It is expected the lorry will be recovered later this evening.