M6 motorists abandon their cars due to police incident

Lancashire Police were responding to a 'distressed male on a bridge' on Saturday, August 31, which forced them to close the motorway in both directions near Junction 33.

With cars queuing up, some people made the choice to leave their vehicles behind, a decision that has been strongly criticised by the police.

Police criticised the members of the public who made the decision to leave (Image: Lancashire Police)

A spokesperson commented: "Some people allowed their children to run freely on the carriageway and others began to play frisbee and football.

"Unbelievably, a number of motorists abandoned their cars and went into the services, with many crossing to the opposite side of the motorway."

The closure was not in place for a 'significant' time, with the individual in question promptly being arrested for Aggravated Vehicle Taking, driving while unfit through drink or drugs, and disqualified driving.

The police view it as a growing problem (Image: Lancashire Police)

"When the motorway reopened a short time later, there were a number of abandoned vehicles which blocked the motorway causing additional delays, and other drivers who found themselves unwilling to continue their journey due to their passengers finding themselves unable to return to their vehicles.

"Whilst we understand that some motorists will have found themselves in a frustrating situation, these people put themselves and others in a very dangerous position.

"They also impeded officers getting to the scene of the emergency, and significantly delayed the motorway traffic from flowing freely again."

Some people were said to cross the entire motorway, choosing to visit the services (Image: Lancashire Police)

The police are concerned that this is a growing problem, with more and more people seeing the behaviour as acceptable. 

"It is creating a dangerous situation and causing officers to detract from dealing with the initial cause of the delay," said the police spokesman.

"Our officers will always work to get traffic moving as quickly as possible, but this will not be at the expense of safety.

"The motorway can be a dangerous place, and that danger may not be immediately obvious.

"We urge people who find themselves in a tailback on the motorway to remain in their vehicles and to await instruction or direction from the Police or National Highways - let us be able to concentrate on dealing with the initial emergency to get you moving as soon as possible."