Lancashire Police criticise motorists who 'abandoned cars and played football' on the M6

Lancashire Police have spoken out against motorists who "abandoned cars and played football" in middle of the M6 during a huge traffic jam on Saturday 31 August.Emergency services were called to reports of an incident on a bridge near to Junction 33 at Lancaster. The motorway was closed in both directions as police responded.Within a few minutes, police said motorists stuck in the closure got out of their vehicles, with children "running freely onto the carriageway" and others "playing football".

Once the incident had cleared, a number of empty cars blocked the motorway and caused further delays, with other drivers not able to continue their journeys due to their passengers struggling to reach their vehicles.A post shared by Lancashire Police read: "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. The motorway was not closed for a significant time and the incident was resolved very swiftly.""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.""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 man was arrested for aggravated vehicle taking, driving while unfit through drink/drugs and disqualified driving as part of the motorway incident. He was taken into custody to be questioned.

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