A CAR was severely damaged in a fire on the M3 north of Winchester this morning.

The blaze began at around 7.45am on the northbound hard shoulder between junctions seven and eight near Dummer.

One appliance from Winchester and one from Basingstoke attended and used two breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet to extinguish the flames.

Firefighters took around 30 minutes to deal with the incident but it is unknown how the fire began.

The blaze caused lengthy delays for miles.