ONLOOKERS were left stunned as several motorists brazenly drove the wrong way up a slip road as ongoing road closures continue to cause havoc on the M3. 

Shocking footage showed several cars, vans and even a motorhome cutting across the hatched markings to skip queues at J4a near Fleet on Saturday morning. 

In a second clip, one person can even be seen reversing back down the motorway as cars were continuing to join. 

The chaotic scenes were the result of a full closure between J4/A331 (Farnborough) and J3/A322 (Bagshot) due to emergency roadworks.

Motorists endured huge delays in tempartures as high as 25C as they were squeezed into one lane to exit towards the signed diversion. 

Josh Larkins-Hayers, who captured the traffic carnage on his phone, was stuck in the backlogs for an hour and a half. He said he was left "shocked" by the "dangerous" decisions of other drivers and wanted to highlight the risks they were taking.

He added: "This was all due to construction roadworks. It is pretty silly to close a whole section of the motorway during August and the school holidays. Either way, some people should have more common sense and stick to the Highway Code."

The closure started at 9pm on Friday, August 5, and will continue until 6am on Monday, August 8.

A signed diversion is in place via the A30 London Road. National Highways has said drivers should either avoid this area or look to use alternative routes if possible.

However, road users will still be able to:

  • Exit the M3 at junction 4 from both directions
  • Join the M3 at junction 4 and travel southbound
  • Join the M3 at junction 3 and travel both directions

Hampshire Police and National Highways have been contacted for comment.

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