The M62 was closed for three hours early today after a man was spotted in a “distressed” state on a bridge.

A passing motorist alerted police to the man on a bridge over the motorway near junction 25 at Brighouse at 3.40am.

Officers attended and the motorway was shut in both directions.

Specially-trained police negotiators were called in and spoke to the man.

After some time the man was persuaded to step back and he was detained by officers for his own safety.

The motorway was re-opened at about 6.45am but tailbacks had already started to build.

As the queues started to move a lorry broke down near Hartshead Moor Services causing two lanes of the four to be closed, adding to the problems.

Surrounding routes also backed up around Ainley Top , Brighouse and Cleckheaton leading to delays across the area at rush hour.

Insp Darren Wainwright, of West Yorkshire Police , said force negotiators spoke to the “distressed” man and brought the incident to a “successful resolution.”

He said the motorway had been re-opened as soon as possible.