Police talk down man from M4 bridge

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Traffic was brought to a standstill on the M4 on Bank Holiday Monday after a man threatened to jump from a motorway bridge.

Police negotiators were called in at about 1pm after several calls from worried motorists who had spotted the man sitting on the edge of the Ditton Road footbridge, which crosses the M4 between junctions 5 and 6.

Officers from the Force's Roads Policing department and shift officers from Berkshire East quickly closed off both carriageways while they tried to talk him down.

A/Sgt Tristan Newsome, based at Windsor, spent more than an hour talking to the man before eventually persuading him to come down from the bridge.
The man, who is in his thirties, was not injured and has voluntarily attended hospital where he will be seeking psychiatric help.

The drama had a knock-on effect on traffic, causing heavy congestion in the area.

Motorist James Taylor got caught in the traffic. He said: "We were on the M4, when all traffic came to a complete standstill, we couldn't progress forward or come off as all exits were closed.
"I have never seen a scene like it where everyone was out of their cars wondering what on earth was going on."

 The motorway reopened at 2.30pm.