Leeds M621: Drunk pedestrians use motorway as shortcut

The M621 is being redeveloped as part of a £1.3bn investment in roads in the region

Drunk pedestrians have been warned they are putting lives at risk by using a motorway as a shortcut home.

National Highways said people had been seen walking along a coned-off area of the M621 near Leeds in recent weeks.

It also warned Leeds United fans not to walk on the motorway after minibuses were seen dropping off supporters at a junction near the Elland Road stadium.

James Finnigan from National Highways said it was "incredibly risky" and illegal to walk on motorways.

In the past three weeks, there have been 11 incidents - eight involving vehicles and three involving pedestrians entering a coned-off area being prepared for roadworks.

"All three of those instances were in the evening, all three people appeared to be intoxicated and when stopped they all said walking along the motorway was the quickest way for them to get home," Mr Finnigan said.

"They possibly hadn't considered the dangers involved."

In addition, he issued a warning to football fans heading to the nearby Elland Road stadium as the new season gets under way.

Football fans on their way to Elland Road have been seen being dropped off by minibus drivers on the motorway, National Highways said

"We are aware that minibuses taking sports fans to Elland Road regularly drop off their passengers on the entry and exit slip roads at junction 2, letting them walk the rest of the way," he said.

"Not only is it extremely dangerous for vehicles to stop there, it's incredibly risky, not to mention illegal, for people to be walking on any part of the motorway.

"We urge anyone taking people to the stadium to find a much better and safer stopping place off the motorway."

The warning comes as motorists in West Yorkshire have been warned of nightly disruption on the busy section of motorway as major roadworks get under way.

National Highways said the overnight closures between junctions one and seven of the M621 were to "mitigate any impact on road users".

Cut congestion

Work began on Tuesday night to improve junctions and slip roads.

The government agency previously said it wanted to cut congestion on the eight-mile stretch near Leeds.

Parts of the M621, which links the M1 and M62 with central Leeds, will close between 20:00 and 05:00 BST every night until 21 August, National Highways said.

"We know there's never a good time to close a busy road like the M621, but to mitigate any impact on road users we will be carrying these works out overnight while traffic levels are lighter," a spokesperson said.

"We'd like to thank everyone for their patience while we begin carrying our improvement work."