HINDHEAD Tunnel was closed in both directions on Tuesday morning when a silver Mercedes flipped over onto its roof just inside the southbound portal.

Police responded to an emergency call at 10.38am to find the upturned car straddling both lanes. The driver was taken to The Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford and treated for minor injuries.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: "We were able to re-open the northbound carriageway at 11.10am and the southbound carriageway at 11.36am."

Meanwhile, much of Petersfield and Liss came to a standstill on Tuesday afternoon after a rush-hour crash on the A3 near the Butser cutting.

Police were forced to close the southbound lane just after 4pm after an articulated lorry collided with a Fiat Punto. No-one was hurt but a two-vehicle shunt in the resulting queue close to the Petersfield turn-off sparked more travel chaos and further hold-ups.

The tailbacks on the A3 stretched back to the Ham Barn roundabout while other routes into Petersfield became snarled up in traffic.

Lengthy queues also developed on the A272 from Stroud and the old A3 through Sheet, where tailbacks started north of The Half Moon pub.