Surrey Police have criticised people who taunted a woman threatening to jump from a footbridge over the M3 at Sunbury today.

There were huge traffic jams in both directions, leading into Twickenham on the A316, after police were called at 11.07am.

The woman was in a distressed state and was later helped to safety and detained under the Mental Health Act. The road re-opened in the early afternoon. 

Officers became aware of a number of people taunting the woman and there were numerous unsavoury statements on social media.

 

 

Inspector Julie Hillman said: “Having members of the public taunt somebody who is clearly in a distressed state as we did earlier today is completely unacceptable.

“I hope the public understand why it was necessary for us to close the road as doing helped save the woman’s life.

“I appreciate that being stuck in traffic is the last thing that people want to be doing, particularly on a weekend when the weather is hot, but on this occasion it was completely necessary to ensure officers saw this woman to safety.”