Major road closed for one hour

FEARS for the safety of a man on a bridge caused traffic chaos yesterday on a major arterial road.

Police were forced to shut the A47 Soke Parkway for about an hour from 9.55am.

Officers closed the major road between junction 15, with the Nene Parkway and junction 16, with Bretton Gate, while talking to the man.

They persuaded him to come down and reopened the road shortly before 11am.

Drivers reported sitting in traffic for more than 40 minutes and some cars reversed down slip roads.

After police talked the man down from the bridge, which links Tirrington, South Bretton, with the other-side of the parkway, he was detained for a few hours and taken to the Cavell Centre, next to Peterborough City Hospital.

memorial: The teams from Gunthorpe and Stanground Academy taking part in the football match in memory of Richard Shaw, pictured inset.