Police have blasted motorists who let their children run around on the motorway and started up games of frisbee and football during an emergency incident.

The M6 was shut in both directions at Junction 33 during Saturday (31 August) afternoon after reports of a distressed man on a bridge.

Lancashire Police closed both carriageways and have released pictures of the scenes which they say left people in a ‘very dangerous position’.

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A number of drivers also abandoned their vehicles, leaving them in the motorway and causing further delays when police came to re-open the road.

A police spokesperson said: “They say a picture tells a thousand words, no more so than in the images we have attached to this post.

“Sadly within a few minutes, a number of motorists held in the blocks thought it was acceptable to get out of their vehicles to see what was going on.

“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.

“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.

“We are seeing this happening more and more, with people thinking this behaviour is acceptable when it is clearly not. It is creating a dangerous situation and causing officers to detract from dealing with the initial cause of the delay. 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.”

A 36-year-old man from Preston was arrested at the scene for aggravated vehicle taking and for driving while unfit through drink-drugs and disqualified driving.

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