'Drunk' closes m-way.

A MAN brought chaos to the Midlands motorway network today after threatening to jump off a bridge.

Three-mile tailbacks built up as police were forced to close Junction 1 of the M54 north of Wolverhampton and divert traffic as officers sought to reason with the man.

After half-an hour the man, who was believed to have been drunk, was persuaded to come down and was led to safety by the police.

The alarm was raised just before 11am after the man was spotted on the wrong side of the safety railings on the bridge near Junction 10A of the M6 near its junction with the M54, on the Staffordshire/West Midlands border.

As negotiations with the man began, police closed off the eastbound section of the M54 at Junction 1.

Traffic was diverted via the A460 to rejoin the southbound section of the M6 at Junction 11.A spokesman for Central Motorway Police said: "The man appeared to be intoxicated and was threatening to jump."

A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency said the alarm was raised at 10.56am and the junction was re-opened about 11.30 am.

"The man was eventually led to safety by the police. We had three-mile tailbacks on the eastbound carriageway of the M54 but it had no effect on the M6," she said.