A collection crew operative from services firm Urbaser has remained in hospital overnight after suffering minor chest injuries, and two others were also injured after a bin lorry overturned on the M27 yesterday (21 November).

The vehicle was transporting waste collected from homes in Gosport when it overturned, and the crew member was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth along with another operative and the vehicle’s driver.

Three crews from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene where two of those trapped inside had to be cut free after the lorry jack-knifed and overturned.

Police said the incident occurred near Junction 12 eastbound, near Cosham in Hampshire shortly before 11am. A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the vehicle had overturned having hit the central reservation of the motorway.

The eastbound carriageway was closed for over five hours as the clean up operation took place, and lane closures remained in place into the evening while the central reservation was repaired, causing long tailbacks in both directions while the workers were treated and the lorry was brought upright and recovered.

Gosport Borough Council has confirmed that the bin lorry belonged to its contractor Urbaser, and so bin collections in Lee-on-the-Solent have consequently been affected.

Councillor Graham Burgess said: “We will be working closely with the refuse contractors, Urbaser Ltd, to look into the causes of the incident. We want to minimise delays, so our teams will work as late as possible this evening to make collections.” The council recommended locals leave their bins out and assured them that they will be collected as soon as possible.

The crash is the third incident to have taken place in a matter of months on the same section of the M27. Specialist collision and crash scene police officers spent the afternoon examining the vehicle and downloading the on-board tachograph (which automatically records the vehicle’s speed and distance) of the mangled vehicle to determine whether or not it may have been speeding.

The vehicle was a rear wheeled automatic fitted with a speed limiter. At the time of the incident, the vehicle was travelling downhill and, given these factors, police say this may have caused it to tip over.

A spokeswoman for Urbaser, said: “The incident is on-going and an investigation is being carried out by the highway police. All of the operatives were taken to hospital after the accident. The driver and one operative were discharged from the hospital yesterday and the other operative is still in hospital with minor injuries.”