A HAMPSHIRE woman driver had an incredible escape when she nearly lost control of her car on a motorway after mindless yobs had removed wheel nuts.

They were taken from the nearside front wheel while it was parked outside The Dolphin Hotel in Botley.

It is the latest and most serious incident in a series of attacks on vehicles at the pub's car park which is leased to the council.

Police, who are appealing for witnesses, said it could have proved fatal, with those responsible possibly facing a murder charge.

The driver, who had been travelling along the M27 towards Bournemouth, didn't know that there was anything wrong with her car until she had to brake hard, causing the car to go nearly out of control. She kept a cool head and pulled on to the hard shoulder where she noticed that the nearside front wheel was very wobbly. She drove the car slowly and very carefully to the nearest garage where they confirmed it had been tampered with.

Garage workers, who found that the remaining wheel nuts had also worked loose, were shocked that the car had not been involved in a more serious accident.

This appears to be an isolated incident and a police spokesman said: "This is the only incident we are aware of. But if any members of the public have experienced a similar problem then we would like them to contact us."

Police officers from Hedge End are now looking for witnesses who may have seen someone tampering with the vehicle or acting suspiciously around The Dolphin Hotel between Monday and Wednesday of this week.

The Dolphin manager Bethan Manning said she would like to see extra police patrols and CCTV cameras to stem the rise of vandalism.

Anyone with information should contact Hedge End police on 0845 045 4545 or the anonymous crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.