Dorset firefighter taken to hospital after tackling A303 lorry blaze

The lorry collided with a broken-down car on the westbound carriageway between Mere and Zeals on Monday morning (July 21). Emergency services said the lorry then left the carriageway, went down an embankment and caught fire. The driver, a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

The affected stretch of the A303 was closed for nearly 11 hours while the emergency services worked to recover the heavy goods vehicle.  National Highways confirmed the carriageway had reopened shortly after 9pm.

The #A303[1] in #Wiltshire[2] is CLOSED westbound between the B3095 and #B3092[3] near #Mere[4] due to a multi vehicle collision. Emergency services are on scene.

More info to follow pic.twitter.com/XAX3aKBSNd[5]

-- National Highways: South-West (@HighwaysSWEST) July 21, 2025[6]

A spokesperson for the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service said: "We were called to the A303 westbound between Mere and Zeals at 10.32am on July 21 following a road traffic collision between a car and a lorry. "The lorry went down an embankment and caught fire. The driver was out of the vehicle when firefighters arrived. "We mobilised crews from Gillingham, Tisbury and Shaftesbury, together with a heavy rescue unit from Trowbridge and a water carrier from Wilton.

"The fire was extinguished by two breathing apparatus wearers using two hose reel jets, and our stop was at 2.21pm. "One firefighter who tripped whilst on uneven ground was taken to hospital for treatment." The incident happened on the A303 near Mere (Image: Google Street View) A Wiltshire Police spokesperson said: "We responded to reports of a lorry on fire on the westbound carriageway of the A303 near Mere just before 10.30am following a collision with a broken-down vehicle.

"Two people, including the driver of the lorry, a man in his 50s, were taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries."

While work to recover the lorry was ongoing, a National Highways spokesperson said: "The recovery of the heavy goods vehicle will be protracted due to its position being approximately 10 feet down a grass verge.

Several large trees will need to be removed before recovery can commence."

References

1. ^ #A303 (twitter.com)
2. ^ #Wiltshire (twitter.com)
3. ^ #B3092 (twitter.com)
4. ^ #Mere (twitter.com)
5. ^ pic.twitter.com/XAX3aKBSNd (t.co)
6. ^ July 21, 2025 (twitter.com)