UK motorway closed for several hours, heavily congested due to woman on bridge

October 9, 2008 The United Kingdom's M6 motorway was closed for several hours earlier due to a woman in a "distressed state" who was standing on the bridge above the road. The road reopened after police convinced the woman to come down at 1725 BST.

The motorway was closed just south of junction 15 as a result of the incident. The woman is now being examined by paramedics and taken to hospital.

The nearby A519 road, which is smaller than the M6, was also closed as a result of the incident.

As of 18:00 UTC, the road remained heavily congested in both directions. The severe congestions was in junctions 14 to 17 southbound and junctions 13 to 15 northbound.

The Highways Agency advised motorists to avoid the above roads until 1930 local time today (1830 UTC). That time has now passed.