Police statement as helicopter and 999 crews rush to M62 bridge

A large number of emergency services attended an incident at a road bridge over the M62 last night.

Residents reported seeing a helicopter land in the vicinity of Scammonden Bridge which carries Elland to Buckstones over the motorway near Scammonden Lake.

Locals feared the worst after seeing a large number of emergency vehicles with blue lights racing to the scene. A local woman said she was afraid someone might have fallen.

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“The first helicopter arrived at 11.20pm. There were already a lot of blue lights, but they just kept coming. I thought someone had jumped at first, but then the traffic on the motorway was not stopped.” In a brief statement, West Yorkshire Police said a man was taken to hospital.

A spokesman for the Force said: “This was a safety incident where a man was taken to hospital as a precaution – reported at 10.33pm yesterday.”

The spokesman confirmed that police were concerned for the safety of someone on the bridge. In 2020, construction crews completed the installation of new safety barriers at Scammonden Bridge, designed to prevent people from taking their own lives.

The barriers consist of a 2.4 m (8 ft) high inwardly curved anti-climb fence. The barriers were installed following growing concern about the number of deaths on the bridge.

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