The UK’s busiest motorway, the M25, was shut down in both directions in the early hours of Monday after a man threatened to jump from a bridge barefoot.
The drama unfolded between Junctions 9 and 10 near the Wisley side of the Ockham Lane Bridge. Police and Highways England closed all eight lanes after the man called 999 at around 1:50am, stating he was suicidal.
Despite his distressed state, the man told officers he did not want to jump while traffic was moving below. Officers quickly secured the area with cordon tape as a tense standoff began.
Trained police negotiators spent time carefully talking to the man. Eventually, he agreed to come down safely. He was taken into custody and rushed to hospital by paramedics from the South East Coast Ambulance Service for evaluation.
The two-hour incident caused significant gridlock, with traffic stopped in both directions and thousands of commuters frustrated by the delays.
A Surrey Police spokesperson declined to release any further details about the incident. However, officers’ swift action prevented a potential tragedy on one of Britain’s busiest motorways.
Originally published by UKNIP.
