A SIX-year-old girl and her 40-year-old father died when their car crashed on the M27 where controversial roadworks are taking place.

The man's 36-year-old wife and three-year-old son are fighting for their lives after the car crossed cones marking a temporary central reservation and ploughed head-on into a juggernaut.

The tragedy happened on the day the Daily Echo revealed the £18m resurfacing scheme would take two months longer to complete than planned.

Neither the Highways Agency nor the contractors would reveal why the works will over-run.

The tragic accident happened on the eastbound carriageway between junction two at Ower and junction three at Nursling. Emergency crews cut free five occupants of the car which disintegrated as it was hit by the heavy goods vehicle. The man and girl died at the scene. The woman and the two other children were taken to Southampton General Hospital. Surgeons operated on the woman throughout the night while the boy remains in intensive care.

The couple's five-year-old daughter was also taken to hospital although her injuries are minor. The family were from south west London.

The crash took place at around 1.10pm when a Vauxhall Omega travelling westbound along the motorway crossed over a temporary central reservation at roadworks near junction two on the motorway. It was hit head-on by a Leyland DAF articulated lorry travelling along the eastbound carriageway. Huge tailbacks of traffic built up for 12 miles in both directions.accident.

The motorway was closed in both directions as firefighters cut the occupants of the car free from their wrecked vehicle.

Eastbound traffic queued back on to the A31 through the New Forest while westbound traffic was tailed back past junction five near Southampton International Airport.

Even the M3 southbound was affected with vehicles at a virtual standstill all the way back to junction 11 near Winchester.

The driver of the lorry was also taken to hospital suffering from what are believed to be back injuries.

He is expected to be released today after spending the night at Southampton General Hospital under observation.

AA spokeswoman, Rebecca Rees, said when roadworks were in place on a motorway it was nearly twice as likely that a serious accident would take place.

She said: "This is a very tragic incident. The more delays there are to the roadworks being completed, the more risk there is of this sort of thing happening again.

She added drivers in the south paid around £2bn in road tax every year and were entitled to an explanation from the Highways Agency as to why there was a delay in repairing the road.

She said: "There has been no explanation from the Highways Agency about why the roadworks have over-run and that does nothing to boost public confidence.

"Motorists would like an explanation which has not been forthcoming.

Yesterday, the Highways Agency refused to reveal to the Daily Echo why drivers would have to endure an extra two months of snarl-ups on the M27.

Hampshire area manager John Rylett said: "Fundamentally, we are not in a position to give any detail because it is a commercially sensitive situation with an existing contract."

No one from contractors Stenoaks Hanson Highways was available for comment.