Drivers warned after multiple crashes on icy Dorset roads

And ahead of another freezing start today, police warned motorists to take extra care and drive to the conditions.

Temperatures in parts of the county dropped below freezing again last night with some areas reaching as low as -4 degrees.

Some parts including Dorchester and Blandford were still at minus temperatures at 7am this morning meaning commuters may face icy conditions once again. 

There was mayhem on the roads yesterday, with numerous collisions reported.

A car flipped onto its roof and blocked the A35 near Winterbourne Abbas.  

In this incident, which happened around 2.45pm, the driver had to be cut free by the fire service.
An eyewitness said motorists from other vehicles assisted with first aid while they waited for emergency services to arrive.

It is not known if the cause of a collision was weather-related.

Earlier, four crashes were reported by PC Roan Doyle who tweeted: "The team have dealt with crash after crash. The roads are icy and drivers need to drive to the conditions."

There were two crashes on Bere Road near Wareham. The first one at 6.35am saw one man sustain minor injuries.

About 25 minutes later, a second vehicle was involved in a crash at the same location trying to avoid the scene.

Travel Dorset reported that a section of Bere Road was "impassable" due to ice.

There were another two incidents on Puddletown Road near Wareham. At 6.58am a car was overturned on the road but no injuries were sustained.

Later, two fire crews, as well as police and an ambulance responded to a car "stuck in a quagmire" on the same road. 

The fire service was notified at 10.39am by a caller who described a Honda Civic stuck on its end in a quagmire with a person stuck inside but not injured.

Another crash at Holton Heath, where a man was treated by ambulance following an accident involving one car.

Furthermore, two cars and a lorry crashed at the White Post junction on the A31 near Bere Regis at 7.45am.

An accident also occurred on the A30 near Henstridge at about 8.40am. A single vehicle crashed but there were no injuries reported.

A Renault Clio also ended up on its side after an accident on the A357 near Shillingstone at about 7.20am.

Dorset Police said: "Although we cannot say if ice was the cause of the collisions, we would remind drivers to take extra caution on the roads in icy conditions."

Dorset Police's No Excuse team tweeted: "Take it slow, increase the gap between you and the vehicle in front and plan for journeys to take longer."

Travel Dorset said: "We never guarantee gritted roads are ice free. 

"We will grit and monitor our lorries to make sure they’re gritting at the correct rate, drivers must continue to drive to the conditions."

The main salting network was gritted on Tuesday night at 7pm. 

Dorset County Council planned to re-treat roads again last night and 5am today, but warned drivers to expect frost, black ice and slippy surfaces. They advised people to stick to treated roads where possible.