Nearly 100 drivers have ignored road closures and deliberately entered closed sections of the Manchester smart motorway scheme over the last 22 months.

Highways England revealed around four drivers per month are entering sections of the £208 million project to try and cut journey times.

So far, around 34 drivers ignored slip road closures, 29 incidents related to vehicles crossing barriers or cones at the side of the motorway, and 26 incidents involved taking no notice of lane closures. There were also six incidents where drivers ignored full carriageway closures.

CCTV footage has now been released showing a driver ignoring an overnight slip road closure at junction 11 of the M60 at Eccles, where he is seen being chased through the construction area by shocked workers.

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Hill, Project Manager for the Manchester smart motorway scheme at Highways England, urged drivers to follow diversions "for their own and our workers' safety".

"It's shocking that four drivers a month are putting the lives of our workers at risk by deliberately ignoring road closures, just to try and save a few minutes on their journeys," he said.

"The work to upgrade the M60 and M62 to a smart motorway is one of the biggest construction projects currently underway in the North West, and sometimes we need to close parts of the motorway to ensure the safety of our workers.

"We only ever close slip roads and motorway carriageways overnight when traffic levels are lower, and make sure there are clearly-signed diversion routes in place.

"We are urging drivers to follow the diversions for their own and our workers' safety, and warning that we will pass on the details to the police of any drivers who deliberately ignore road closures."

Over 400 people are working to create the smart motorway between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 at Rochdale. The scheme is due to be completed in autumn 2017.

(LM/MH)