All traffic stopped on stretch of M62 due to 'cows on road'

All traffic was stopped on a stretch of the M62 this afternoon due to 'cows in the road'.

'A large number of cows wandered close to the road' at around 12pm, National Highways said. Both sides of the motorway were blocked between junction 19 for Heywood and junction 20 for Rochdale.

Police and traffic officers were on the scene. Long queues built up to the closure.

READ MORE: Boy on bike 'followed by aggressive dog' before being mauled

READ MORE: Man abducted victim and raped him in the street before holding gun to his head in horror attack

A tweet posted by National Highways said: "Traffic has been STOPPED in both directions on the #M62 in #GreaterManchester between J19 (#Heywood) and J20 (#Rochdale) to allow for Police and our Traffic Officers to deal with a large number of cows which have wandered closed to the road.

"There's a 30 minute delay both ways."

Follow our live blog below for the latest traffic updates.

Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.

Read more of today's top stories here

All lanes are now reopened with delays easing.

We will end our live coverage here.

The M62 was closed in both directions by police on Sunday afternoon (October 22) after an 'aggressive bull' had escaped.

Armed police attended the incident with police helicopters circling overhead, as the motorway was shut off between J20 and J19 near Heywood, causing long delays.

Read the full story here.