Avon and Somerset Police arrest man after M5 closure near Bristol

Avon and Somerset Police arrested a man in his thirties after the m5 was shut for more than four hours near Bristol on Sunday night. The closure started at about 20:00 BST and blocked the motorway between junction 18 and junction 19 southbound, and between junction 21 and junction 18 northbound.

Junctions 18 and 19

The route reopened just after midnight, ending a closure that affected both directions of the motorway near Bristol. Police said the arrest was on suspicion of causing a public nuisance.

Sunday night closure

The section of road stayed closed long enough to cut off a major stretch of the M5 until after midnight. For drivers using that part of the motorway, the practical impact was the loss of a direct route through the Bristol section while police dealt with the incident.

Public nuisance arrest

The man arrested was in his thirties, according to police. That leaves the road situation resolved, but the arrest ties the closure to a police inquiry rather than to a routine traffic hold-up.

Anyone travelling that stretch after the reopening had the motorway back in use, but the case itself now sits with police under the public nuisance allegation.