A FUEL spill caused three hours of delays on a major Hampshire road.

Emergency services were called to the A35 after a fuel tank on a lorry ruptured - sending diesel into drains and causing one lane of the dual carriageway to be closed off.

Pound Lane, near Spicer’s Hill, was also cordoned off while tactical advisors dealt with the incident.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue advisor Phill Barrett said: “We have had an incident where a fuel tank has ruptured. It’s not the main load. An amount of fuel has come out of that.

“We are working with Hampshire Police who have closed off the road and New Forest District Council to make sure the clean up doesn’t polite any of the water courses.

“We don’t know the full extent of the leak - but the tank wasn’t full.

“But we would ask drivers to be cautious when driving through standing water.”

It is understood the tank was ruptured by a drain cover submerged in water.

A spokesperson for the fire service said: “The stop message came in at 11.30. There was a fuel spillage from an HGV which contained about 250 litres of diesel. It doesn’t make clear whether all that leaked.”

He added: “We made the scene safe with our environmental protection units, including booms and absorbent pads.”

A Hampshire police spokesperson said: “We were made aware at 8.48am and assisted with road closures.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We attended the oil spill but we are satisfied there was no impact on the environment.

"We understand that it wasn’t a massive spill and the oil was mopped up.”

NFDC were contacted for a comment.