A large fire at the Days Inn Fleet services between Junction 4a and 5 on the M3 southbound has led to temporary closure, until early January.
The blaze erupted in a restaurant at the services at 2230hrs on December, 15 and resulted in temporary closure of the southbound lanes. Hampshire Fire and Rescue (HFR) told BBC News that 100 firefighters attended the scene alongside crews from Surrey, who successfully prevented the fire spreading to surrounding buildings. The fire was under control by the early hours of the morning and no-one was injured and the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Due to the rear of the building being completely destroyed, the services have had to temporarily close until January. The petrol pumps and station have since been reopened.
In a statement Welcome Break confirmed: “Due to the recent fire at Days Inn fleet is closed until January, 8. The nearest alternative Welcome Break hotels are Days Inn Cobham or Days Inn Winchester. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
However, when CBW contacted Welcome Break for comment, a spokesperson said: “In terms of reopening – the bridge and the south side (where fire was) will be closed until early January 2017. Welcome Break is aiming to set up a temporary structure at the south side so that it can try and get the services back to normal. At this stage we are not sure how much of the services will reopen early January. That is about as up to date as we are at present.”
