Police say sorry for M5 closure

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/bristol/8245500.stm

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Police in Bristol have said sorry to motorists who were left stranded on the M5 for more than six hours after it was closed on the bank holiday weekend.

The M5 was shut due to concern for the safety of a man who later died after falling from a motorway bridge.

Andy Pullen, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Let me apologise to all the road users who were caught up in the traffic at Avonmouth last weekend."

A queue of 35 miles built up stretching back to Bridgwater in Somerset.

Supt Andy Pullen, head of the road policing unit, said the force would be carrying out a full scale review of their procedures.

He said: "People wanted to know why we didn't have an officer walking down the hard shoulder informing them of what was happening.

'Delays and inconvenience'

"That is just not practical - it is not what officers are there for.

"Any decision to close the motorway is not taken lightly.

"One of the main things people have been raising is how we actually inform drivers of what is actually happening."

The incident was also raised by Lord Stoddart of Swindon, who has submitted a written question asking the government to investigate the closure of the motorway on 28 August.

He said the police's actions caused "delays, inconvenience and hardship for thousands of motorists and their families".

The man who died has not been formally identified but is believed to be in his late 50s and from Bristol.