Lorry U-turn led to blocked Sway Road in the New Forest

A LORRY driver's attempted U-turn saw a New Forest route blocked for four hours.

The vehicle ended stuck in a ditch with its bumper ripped off after the manoeuvre on Sway Road near Brockenhurst on Tuesday.

One motorist who watched the drama told the A&T: “He tried to carry out the U-turn by going into the ditch, but the lorry seemed to get stuck. He then managed to rip his rear bumper off.

“Another driver went to help him by getting the bumper out from under his wheels, but he still couldn’t move the lorry. I felt sorry for him, he seemed totally mortified.”

The road was blocked for nearly four hours, with another witness saying that the driver may have realised his lorry was too high to pass under a bridge further up the road.

She said: “I think he was probably following the diversions from the A35 roadworks then realised he would not be able to get his vehicle through and tried to turn back.”

The lorry was eventually rescued by two tow trucks, and the road reopened around 4pm.