A 34-year-old father died after his car ran into the back of a lorry on the M3 near Winchester on Wednesday night.

The man's partner, a 40-year-old female passenger, suffered a fractured leg, and their eight-month old daughter, in a child seat in the back, escaped unharmed.

It is believed the black VW Golf ploughed into the back of a Volvo low-loader, which was turning into Winchester Services, just before 11pm. It took firefighters, hampered by the wet, over an hour to release the occupants.

They were taken to the RHCH, where the man later died. The family, from Peterborough, is believed to have been en route to a funeral.

The motorway was closed and diversions put in place until 6.30 on Thursday morning while investigations continued.