Morning commuters were slowed down by police after a broken down car needed removing from a major Dorset road.

At around 6.40am today, Thursday, December 7, a Dorset Police car was positioned in the middle of the A35 near the Puddletown Bypass heading towards Dorchester.

An eye witness at the front of the queue said "I was on my way into work and just before the dual carriageway becomes a single lane after Puddletown I could see blue flashing lights up ahead. 

"I thought to myself that an accident had happened because the police car was slowing traffic down in the centre of the road and they normally do that when there has been a crash.

"The police car brought traffic to a stop, then all of a sudden we were moving again and I could see a car near the barriers on the inside on the bridge with the police car next to it.

"I thought the car may have slid into the railings because of the wet conditions." 

Police said officers were at the scene because of a broken down car.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "We were called at 6.17am to a report of a broken down vehicle on the Puddletown Bypass near Dorchester. Officers attended. Recovery was arranged for the vehicle."