TRAFFIC on the M53 was brought to a standstill twice today because of a two-car crash, wandering sheep on the road and a 'police incident'.

This morning, motorway police were called to reports of sheep on the road at junction three (Woodchurch) and a two-vehicle crash junction four at Brimstage.

The two-vehicle crash was cleared just before 11am and traffic returned to normal.

The sheep were also safely moved from the road not long after. It was the second time in two days they had been found on the motorway.

Emergency services were called to the 'police incident' at junction three (Woodchurch) at 4.30pm, following a concern for safety of a man in the area.

The man was taken to hospital under the mental health act. He has since been discharged.

The Highways Agency tweeted that traffic was temporarily halted with "approximately 1½ miles of queuing traffic on the #M53 in both directions approaching J3" because of the incident.

Traffic slowly returned to normal at around 5.30pm.