A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after his white van flipped over at a set of traffic lights in Belmont Rise.

Luckily no pedestrians were using the crossing when the Ford Transit vehicle hit the central reservation of the A217 and overturned shortly before 7am on Saturday.

The driver escaped from the wreckage with minor hand injuries. He was later taken to Sutton police station but released on bail.

Motorists continued to face traffic disruption over the weekend because three traffic lights were damaged in the collision.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We were called to a road traffic accident at 6.54am on Saturday on the Belmont Rise section of the A217, after a Ford Transit van collided with the central reservation.

“The driver, a 27-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and has been bailed to return to Sutton police station. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries to a hand. No other vehicles and no pedestrians were involved.”

Ted Luckhurst, from Sutton, was travelling to work in Dorking when he came across the crash scene about 7.40am.

He said: “It was quite horrific. The car had landed on the section where people cross the road and they had a job moving it. It could have been a lot worse if there had been anyone by the crossing.”