All traffic stopped on motorway due to police incident

The M61 was closed in both directions for over an hour this afternoon (May 1) as police halted traffic due to an incident.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed they attended a scene on the southbound stretch of the motorway between junctions 3 and 4 at around midday following reports of a concern for welfare for a member of the public.

Traffic quickly built up on surrounding roads including the M60 north of Worsley Interchange.

All lanes were re-opened shortly after 1pm as GMP confirmed in a statement that the incident had been 'brought to a safe conclusion'.

We're ending our live coverage of this incident here - any further updates will be available on our website.

Delays remain on the M61 southbound just north of Swinton Interchange, according to Inrix.

Travel time is estimated at around 15 minutes.

GMP have confirmed that the incident was brought 'to a safe conclusion' following concern for welfare for a member of the public.

The incident now appears to be cleared and traffic is easing in both directions, according to Inrix

All lanes between junctions three and four of the M61 have now re-opened, according to Inrix.

The area remains congested, according to their traffic maps.

Image: Inrix

This screenshot from Google Maps shows the extent of the closures, and traffic building on surrounding roads.

Image: Google Maps

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed they are in attendance and that the closures in place are due to a 'concern for welfare'.

The incident is ongoing.