THE westbound carriageway of the M27 has been reopened between junctions seven and five after a body was discovered in the road earlier today.

The body is believed to be that of a woman with some witness reports suggesting she may have jumped or fell from a bridge over the busy motorway.

Police shut the road as soon as the body was reported, while an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death has already been launched.

Officers warned motorists to expect serious delays in both directions on the M27, and say that despite the road reopening, long tailback are still being experienced.

Shortly after the incident occured, traffic jams were stretching all the way back to Portsmouth, while in the other direction slow moving traffic was reported from Junction three at Nursling.

The incident happened shortly after 2.30pm and occurred between the Southampton Airport turn-off and the Hedge End turn-off.

At least four police cars, an ambulance crew and Hampshire Fire and Rescue were sent to the scene.

Although police only closed the westbound carriageway, long tailbacks formed as motorists stop to look at the scene.

The westbound carriageway is expected to remained closed for several hours while Hampshire Constabulary's Road Policing Unit began its investigation.