Major road reopens after military convoy crash

A road has reopened after two men were seriously injured in a crash involving military vehicles.

The A34 in Berkshire and Hampshire was closed for almost 12 hours after the incident near Newbury on Saturday morning.

A witness said one military vehicle travelling in a convoy overturned, while another crossed the central reservation at about 11:00 BST.

Police have appealed for witnesses to the crash after two men were taken to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

A woman, who asked not to be named, posted on Facebook: "About 12 minutes ago we witnessed a large crash as the A343 merges with the A34.

"Four military vehicles were convoying very close together and as vehicles trying to join the road one of the military vehicles flipped as it turned and rolled twice.

"Another of the convoys went over the central reservation trying to avoid the collision, causing another collision on the other side of the road."

The Ministry of Defence has said it was aware of a collision involving two military vehicles but said it could not comment further.

National Highways said on Saturday the A34 had been closed between the A343 and the A4 after the incident due to "significant barrier damage" at the scene.

Shortly before 22:30, it said in a tweet the road had reopened.

Hampshire police said in a statement: "A man in his 30s suffered a serious injury to his leg and was taken to hospital.

"A man in his 20s suffered a serious injury to his arm and was also taken to hospital.

"Officers have been carrying out a number of enquiries and would like to appeal for witnesses to come forward."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, external, X (Twitter), external, or Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk, external or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240, external.