Children were allowed to run freely and 'play frisbee and football' on the M6 during traffic tailbacks near Lancaster as police dealt with a report of a distressed man on a bridge.
Lancashire Police have hit out at motorists who got out of their vehicles to see what was happening during the lengthy traffic delays near the M6 Junction 33 on Saturday afternoon.
Some left their cars and went into the services, many crossing over to the other side of the motorway on foot.
When the M6 reopened, abandoned vehicles were blocking the road causing further delays, said police.
The M6 had to be closed in both directions between Junction 33 (Lancaster South/Garstang) to Junction 34 (Lancaster) while police dealt with the incident on the bridge.
The man, a 36-year-old from Preston, has been arrested as part of an investigation into the unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle.
Lancashire Police posted a lengthy statement on Facebook on Sunday, alongside images of the congestion and people on the hard shoulder and the carriageway on Saturday.
"They say a picture tells a thousand words, no more so than in the images we have attached to this post," it said.
"They relate to an incident yesterday when we had to temporarily stop traffic on the M6 in both directions near to Junction 33 due a report of a distressed male on a bridge at that location.
"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, with the individual in question being arrested for aggravated vehicle taking, driving while unfit through drink/drugs and disqualified driving.
"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."
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